Australia’s Advent raises $184m for Fund VI

"Advent 6 has secured the support of all of the key active Australian PE advisors and fund-of-funds, together with several prominent international fund-of-funds and pension funds," Rupert Harrington, the PE firm's managing director, told AVCJ. "This is the first time Advent marketed its funds offshore, and approximately 50% of commitments have been made by overseas investors."

Almost all Australia's mid-market and lower mid-market GPs are increasingly targeting international LPs as domestic institutions scale back their commitments to the asset class or allocate more to foreign funds at the expense of local players.

Archer Capital, which closed its fifth fund in late 2011 at A$1.5 billion, sourced two-thirds of the capital from overseas, compared to 55% and 15%, respectively in Fund IV and Fund III. Of the A$475 million CHAMP Ventures received for its seventh vehicle last summer, more than half came from foreign investors. Previous funds have been overwhelmingly backed by domestic LPs.

Advent reached a first close of on Fund VI of nearly A$100 million in late 2011 and was originally looking to raise in the region of A$400 million. The PE firm targets mid-market corporations in Australia and New Zealand with enterprise valuations of A$20-150 million and existing annual profit in excess of A$5 million. Equity investments fall within the A$5-60 million range, although the firm has formed syndicates that have committed up to A$100 million.

Fund V is fully committed and has returned most of its invested capital to LPs, with several portfolio companies still to be exited, such as electronics specialist Trivantage, mining equipment supplier Orionstone and packaging business Integrated Packing.

Recent exits include the sale of metal products manufacturer Locker Group Holdings to US-based Valmont Industries, which generated a 2.5x money multiple; the sale of a minority stake in Genesis Care to KKR for a 2.8x return; and the sale of DVD manufacturer Regency Media back to company management, which delivered a 2.5x multiple.

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• Topics
• Fundraising
• Australasia
• Advent Private Capital
• Australia
• Fundraising