PEP invests $670m in SCA's Australasian arm

Personal care manufacturer SCA and PEP will each hold a 50% stake in the new holding company, which will continue to sell tissue and packaging products under the Sorbent, Purex, Handee Ultra and Libra brands.

Jan Johansson, president and CEO of SCA, said he hopes the deal will allow the business to access "local competence" within Australia and New Zealand. PEP Managing Director Rickard Gardell, meanwhile, cited the company's "global expertise" as a factor which attracted the private equity firm.

SCAHA has an annual turnover of around $640 million and a workforce of 1,500. Its New Zealand subsidiary generated a loss of $47.8 million last year.

Macquarie Capital Advisors provided corporate finance advice on the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and should close within two to three months.

It comes just three months after PEP sold beverage firm Independent Liquor to Japan's Asahi Group for NZ$1.525 billion ($1.27 billion), alongside Unitas Capital. The exiting investors reaped a money multiple of 1.5x on their NZ$1.2 billion investment made in 2006.

Prior to that, in July, PEP was responsible for Australia's largest IPO of the year, raising A$201.8 million ($216.6 million) through the listing its fast-food group, Collins Foods. The company offered 80.7 million shares at A$2.50, which constitutes an EBITDA multiple of 9x.

A third potential exit in the pipeline is Griffin's Foods, which could sell to a trade buyer such as Kellogg, General Mills, Nestle or China's Bright Food Group for an enterprise value of up to A$750 million. UBS and Goldman Sachs are managing the sale process.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• Australia
• Pacific Equity Partners
• Consumer
• buyout