Anacacia takes stake in Australia logistics business

This is the third commitment from the middle-market private equity firm's third fund, which closed at the hard cap of A$300 million ($225 million) last year. The GP typically invests A$15-60 million per transaction in profitable businesses with annual revenues of A$20-300 million.

Anacacia's investment will facilitate the roll-up of the six Direct Couriers branches – in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Auckland – into a single entity. The combined group will have nearly 1,000 sub-contractor vehicles serving an estimated 4,500 customers. Existing senior management will continue to run the business and remain shareholders.

Bolt-on acquisitions are also likely to be part of the strategy as Direct Couriers looks to expand in terms of geography and service lines. Concurrent with Anacacia's investment, the company announced the purchase of Andrew's Refrigerated Transport, which will strengthen the nationwide coverage of the Direct Cold brand.

"It's a classic Anacacia exclusive deal alongside an aligned management team in an industry with great growth and consolidation prospects," said Jeremy Samuel, a managing director at Anacacia.

The firm's previous Fund III investments are Duncan Technologies, a parking meter and payments solutions provider, and Root Partnerships, which claims to be one of Australia's largest independent infrastructure advisory and project management players.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Buyouts
• Support services
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Logistics
• Transportation
• Anacacia Capital