ROC Partners backs $118m Australian SME fund

According to a government release, ROC and First State will allocate an initial A$100 million while a New South Wales jobs program will contribute A$50 million. The vehicle, known as Go NSW Equity Fund, will focus on job creation by acquiring stakes in high-growth companies.

Go NSW will primarily invest companies with an enterprise value of A$20-50 million that are planning a significant expansion. At least 20% of the corpus, or A$30 million, will be invested in regional businesses.

“We are the first government to team up with a super fund in this way, proving we are a government that’s prepared to think outside the box,” John Barilaro, the minister for small businesses in regional New South Wales, said in a statement that compared Go NSW to “Shark Tank,” a entrepreneurship-themed reality TV show. “Investing in businesses will always carry a level of risk, but we’re prepared to take that risk, because with risk comes reward, and it’s how you unveil the next Uber, Google or Atlassian.”

It coincides with a number of government venture incentives under Australia’s A$1.1 billion national innovation agenda, including a string of tax breaks for early-stage investors and the launch of the A$200 million CSIRO Innovation Fund. The initiative also includes a A$500 million biomedical fund, which is managed by three local VCs.

ROC was established in 1996 as a fund-of-funds under Macquarie Group and spun out as an independent firm in 2014. It operates across bases in Sydney, Hong Kong and Tokyo, and claims about A$4.6 billion in assets under management.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Fundraising
• Growth
• Australia
• ROC Partners
• Venture
• SME