Australia
CVC cuts price for Nine’s magazine division – report
CVC Asia Pacific is reportedly willing to listen to offers of as little as A$300 million ($323 million) – or 3x earnings – for Nine Entertainment’s magazine division after receiving little interest from prospective buyers. The sale of ACP Magazines...
TPG submits Billabong takeover bid despite initial rebuff
TPG Capital has made its A$765 million ($825 million) bid for Billabong regardless of the Australian surfwear company’s attempt to head off a takeover by announcing both the partial sale of one of its most profitable brands and plans to close 150 stores....
CVC-backed Cellnet on hunt for tech bolt-ons - report
Private equity firm CVC has reportedly begun searching for tech start-ups to bolt on to its Australian mobile accessories distributor, Cellnet.
APN in exclusive negotiations with Quadrant Private Equity
APN News & Media has entered into exclusive negotiations with Quadrant Private Equity concerning its outdoor advertising business. It comes after a strategic review concluded that the asset shouldn’t be sold but that further investment was required...
Billabong suspends trading amid reports of TPG bid
Australian surf-wear manufacturer Billabong International has suspended trading amid reports that TPG Capital has tabled a buyout offer for the company. The move comes as Billabong looks for ways to manage a A$600 million debt pile, with net profit expected...
Carlyle’s Applus+ buys Australian inspection firm JDA
The Carlyle Group has acquired John Davidson and Associates (JDA), an Australian extraction industry services provider, through its portfolio company Applus+. The size of the transaction wasn’t disclosed but JDA had revenues of around EUR25 million...
CPPIB in $1.8m mall deal with Australia’s Westfield
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has bought a 45% stake in a portfolio of 12 US malls from Australian shopping mall owner Westfield Group for around $1.85 billion. It is CPPIB’s biggest real estate investment to date.
AVCAL announces new chairman
The Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (AVCAL) has appointed David Brown as chairman, effective after the association's council meeting on Thursday.
Catalyst identifies proxy for resources boom
With investment in Australian natural resources soaring, miners are being dispatched to work on resources in locations so remote that just a few years ago extraction wasn’t deemed economically viable. Morris Corporation provides somewhere for them to...
CVC-backed Nine in talks to sell magazine business – reports
CVC Capital Partners-owned Nine Entertainment has held talks with Seven West Media over the potential sale of its ACP magazines division. The funds raised would help pay down some of the beleaguered company’s A$2.7 billion ($2.8 billion) in senior debt...
Catalyst buys Australian resources industry service provider
Australian private equity firm Catalyst Investment Managers has purchased a 49% stake in Morris Corporation, a provider of facilities management and accommodation services to the mining and oil and gas industries. The value of the transaction was not...
Australian private equity continues to outperform stocks
Australian private equity continues to outperform the country’s stock markets, according to a research demonstrated by the Australian Venture Capital Association (AVCAL).
PE financing: Lagging leverage
Spooked by wider economic issues, European banks are pulling back from the leveraged buyout market. This presents a further challenge to private equity firms already adjusting to tighter financing conditions
CalSTRS commits $500m to IFM’s infrastructure fund
California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) has committed $500 million to Australia-based fund-of-funds Industry Funds Management (IFM). The capital will be placed in the firm’s Global Infrastructure Fund, which principally targets assets...
PEP conducts due diligence on Spotless
Australia’s Spotless Group has done an about-turn and allowed Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) to conduct due diligence into the cleaning services company. This comes despite the firm previously saying it would only open its books to PEP if it increased...
TPG eyes PacBrands takeover
TPG and a syndicate of banks are reportedly preparing a takeover bid for listed Australian clothing and related consumer brands wholesaler Pacific Brands (PacBrands).
Wolseley exits Freshmax to Maui Capital
Wolseley Private Equity has fully exited Australian fruit and vegetables supplier Freshmax through a secondary sale to Maui Capital, an Auckland-based private equity firm. The deal closed before the end of 2011, giving Wolseley enough time to return money...
Carlyle promotes three Asia professionals to MD level
The Carlyle Group has named 13 new managing directors, including Hiroyuki Otsuka in Tokyo, Matthew Hunter in Sydney and Wayne Bannon in Hong Kong, as part of a raft of promotions that saw 41 professionals elevated to senior positions.
CHAMP PE-backed Accolade Wines in China acquisition
Accolade Wines, a portfolio company of CHAMP Private Equity, has purchased a majority stake in Chinese wine distribution business Shanghai CWC Wine Trading. The acquisition is intended to serve as a platform for Accolade’s expansion into the fast-growing...
Nine Entertainment’s creditors draw up plan to push out CVC
Creditors of Australia’s Nine Entertainment have put together a proposal to convert their debt to equity which would wipe out the majority of current owner CVC Capital Partners’ interest in the firm. Hedge funds Oaktree Capital and Apollo Global Management...
CHAMP PE in exclusive talks for VIP Petfoods – report
CHAMP Private Equity has won exclusivity on the sale process of VIP Petfoods, Australia’s largest producer of fresh chilled pet food for dogs and cats, the Australian Financial Review reported. The deal under discussion could reach the high A$300 millions.
Apollo joins Carlyle in $2b race for Brambles Recall unit
Three buyout firms, including Apollo Global Management, have joined The Carlyle Group in making bids worth more than $2 billion for Recall, the document management business of Australian firm Brambles.
SCF and Vibernum in Vautron buyout
US private equity firm SCF Partners and Australia’s Viburnum Funds have acquired a majority stake in the newly created Vautron Group as part of a buyout transaction.
INCJ expects more overseas deals in 2012
Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) has said that it plans to invest more in overseas acquisitions by Japanese companies this year.