Australia’s BGH sets $2.5b hard cap for Fund II

The private equity firm has pencilled in a final close by the end of the first quarter, according to a source close to the situation. Fund II launched last autumn with a target of AUD 3bn and BGH told LPs in late November that it had received that amount in commitments for the first close. The GP did not respond to a request for comment.

Several LPs have already disclosed their participation in BGH Capital Fund II. Washington State Investment Board and San Francisco County & Employees’ Retirement System announced they wanted to commit AUD 480m and AUD 75m, respectively. Both are investors in Fund I.

BGH was established by Ben Gray, formerly co-head of TPG Capital in Asia, his long-time colleague Simon Harle, and Robin Bishop, who was previously head of Australia and New Zealand at Macquarie Capital. A debut fund of AUD 2.6bn closed in 2018, supported by the likes of AustralianSuper, GIC, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

It was the largest ever first-time private equity fund focused on Australia and New Zealand, and the second biggest overall. The mandate focused on mid-market transactions with the flexibility to execute large buyouts or smaller growth deals.

Portfolio companies include education services provider Navitas, a primary healthcare business carved out from Healius, a roll-up of multiple cybersecurity players, dentist clinic chain Abano Healthcare, online travel agent TripADeal, and cinema and theme park operator Village Roadshow. BGH is in the process of pursuing fertility services provider Virtus Health.

Several deals came in the face of COVID-19 disruption. BGH and OTPP pulled out of the Abano acquisition under the material adverse change (MAC) clause and then reengaged several months later once conditions had stabilized. Village Roadshow was also delayed amid uncertainty, while TripADeal was placed in hibernation pending the resumption of international travel.

Fund I was marked at a multiple of 1.3x and 41.2% net IRR as of June 2021, according to Washington State.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Fundraising
• Buyout
• GPs
• Australia
• BGH Capital
• Fundraising