Australasia
CVC-backed Nine Entertainment sells CarSales.com stake
CVC Capital Partners Asia Pacific-owned Australian TV network Nine Entertainment has sold its 49% stake in CarSales.com for a reported A$565.5 million ($569 million) to institutional investors - a move that has spurred questions about Nine’s planned IPO,...
CHAMP Ventures exits TSmarine
CHAMP Ventures last week completed its first foray into the gas and oil sector, finalizing the sale of TSM Group Holdings Pty Ltd. and its subsidiaries (collectively TSmarine) to Fugro Holdings Australia Pty Ltd.
Deal making Down Under
The 8th Annual AVCJ Private Equity and Venture Forum in Sydney brought together optimists, skeptics, GPs, LPs and the industry that makes Austrasia a hotbed of private investment activity
Fundraising – a game changed
Whether investors are intensely focused on emerging markets, just more reticent to commit capital generally, or simply waiting for more economic certainty, there is no question that fundraising for Australian funds will continue to be difficult. In speaking...
Hoyts' IPO delay highlights industry anxiety
Australia experienced an especially difficult year for IPOs in 2010. News throughout the year of delays and abandoned listing plans were consistently attributed to inclement market conditions, while trade sales seemed the only exit option. Yet, despite...
Market truths with a smile
At the recent AVCJ Forum in Sydney, the Founder and Chairman of Principle Advisory Services Les Fallick spoke candidly about challenges, opportunities and why Australia’s “no bullsh*t” culture is good for investors
CHAMP Ventures exits TSmarine
CHAMP Ventures, the mid-market PE specialist that is part of Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners (CHAMP) Group, successfully completed its first foray into the gas and oil sector official on March 3, finalizing the sale of TSM Group Holdings Pty...
Advent sees 6x returns from local exit
Advent Private Capital, a Melbourne-based mid-market private equity group, has sold investee, electric payment service provider Securepay Holdings, to the Australia Post, confirming more than 6x return on its original investment.
Hoyts IPO postponed again
Nearly a year after Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) decided to delay the IPO of its Australian cinema investee Hoyts Group, due to inclement market conditions in 2010, the firm announced further delays, with a listing to come at an indefinite time.
CHAMP raises stake in Blue Star
CHAMP Private Equity-controlled Blue Star Group, a trans-Tasman-Australia printing company, has reportedly received an additional capital contribution from CHAMP Private Equity, coming the same day that Blue Star announced that it would soon announce...
Distressed in Australia on the rise for 2012-2013
Often unrecognized next to its buyout counterparts, a panel of leading Australian distressed investors are bullish on the prospects for a broad range of debt opportunities coming up in the next few years.
True mid-market deals aplenty in Oz
“There has never been a better time to grab market share than now,” said Craig Cartner, Partner, Archer Capital, of the opportunity set in Australia. During a panel on growth drivers in the mid-market, the panellists discussed the true definition of the...
2010 and 2011 record years for secondaries
Jonathon Freeman, Investment Partner with Coller Capital, said at the 8th Annual Australia & New Zealand AVCJ Private Equity and Venture Forum that while he had predicted that 2009 would be the stand-out year for secondaries, in fact 2010 was a stellar...
Oz supers negatively impacting fundraising: Forum
While speakers acknowledge that the fundraising environment was tough inherently, GPs in Australia have expressed discontent with the stance many superannuation funds have taken on private equity, believing that it does not accurately depict the value...
AVCL "making progress" with Australia tax issues
In an interview with Katherine Woodthorpe at the 8th Annual Australia & New Zealand AVCJ Private Equity and Venture Forum, the Chief Executive of AVCAL told AVCJ that she had spent four hours with the tax department just yesterday, and that although the...
AVCJ Australia Forum debates Oz supers' expectations
The opening to the 8th Annual Australia & New Zealand AVCJ Private Equity and Venture Forum delved straight into the issues that are most pressing for the industry Down Under. Australia’s connection to Asian growth, question marks around taxation and...
Driving Asia's growth
With analysts, economists and private equity fund managers touting the opportunities for investment to capitalize on growth throughout the region, AVCJ takes a look at the macro-economic factors that are contributing to Asia’s development and expansion....
Australia's VC industry
Small relative to the buyout community, and in its nascent stages compared to powerhouses like the US, Australia’s venture capital industry is quietly growing, producing returns that LPs should be taking note of. In advance of the 2011 Melbourne International...
Carlyle takes 15% stake in Qube Logistics
Qube Logistics has announced that it has reached an agreement with Carlyle Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a unit of the international private equity giant Carlyle Group, through which the fund will subscribe to up to 91,388,476 shares – or about 15%...
Advent ups investment in IPG
Advent Private Capital, a Melbourne-based mid market private equity group, has increased its original investment in Integrated Packaging Group (IPG), a packing specialty company in Australia, to $50 million. Advent already had a controlling stake, but...
Blackstone pays $9.4b for Centro's US assets
In what is classified as Blackstone’s largest deal since the onset of the financial crisis, the buyout firm has bested two rivals to acquire distressed Australian shopping mall owner Centro Properties Group’s 588 real estate assets in the US, paying $9.4...
Carlyle purchases minority stake in Qube Logistics
Carlyle Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has announced an agreement with Qube Logisticsto to acquire a 15% stake in the Australian company in two stake acquisitions: one to be completed by mid-March for $46.3 million, and the other in early April for $70.3...
Woolworths aims to boost wine collection with Archer's Cellarmasters
Australian retail giant Woolworths has made an A$340 ($344.4 million) bid for Archer Capital-owned wine distributor Cellarmasters, coming one and a half months after the company reportedly approached Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) and Unitas Capital for...
Advent ups investment in Australia's IPG
Advent Private Capital, a Melbourne-based mid-market private equity group, has increased its capital investment in Australian specialty packaging company Integrated Packing Group (IPG) to $50 million.