Australia
Artesian Ventures, University of Queensland to launch start-up fund
Artesian Capital Management, an alternative investment arm spun out of ANZ Banking Group, has partnered with University of Queensland to create a A$1.5 million ($1.4 million) Accelerate Investment Fund. The vehicle will invest in graduates from the university’s...
Standard Chartered, IL&FS-backed Ramky Enviro in Australian acquisition
Ramky Enviro Engineers (REEL), an Indian waste management company backed by Standard Chartered and IL&FS Investment Managers, has agreed to acquire Australian environmental engineering and petrochemical services provider Enviropacific Services .
Australian regulator declines PE request to delay Billabong deal
The Australian Government Takeover Panel - the country's takeover regulator - has declined a request from Oaktree Capital Management and Centerbridge Partners to delay a A$395 million ($359 million) refinancing deal for surf-wear company Billabong International....
Australia's PushStart closes accelerator program
PushStart, an Australian firm that offers mentoring to early stage Australian tech startups, has shut down its accelerator program.
Billabong strikes $331m refinancing deal with Altamont, Blackstone
Australian surf wear company Billabong has a reached an agreement with US private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners and Blackstone Group's credit arm GSO Partners for a A$395 million ($331 million) refinancing package.
Blue Sky invests $18m in Australian retirement home chain
Blue Sky Private Equity (BSPE) has invested more than A$20 million (US$18.3 million) for around 40% of retirement community operator and developer Oak Tree Group.
Investors commit another $26m to Australia fashion site The Iconic
Australian fashion online retailer The Iconic has picked up A$28 million ($26 million) through a new round of funding led by Verlinvest, a Belgium-based investment firm set up by the founding families of Anheuser-Busch InBev. Existing shareholders Investment...
CPPIB, Goodman inject another $500m into China logistics venture
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Australian property and logistics firm Goodman Group have increased the equity commitment to their China joint venture, putting in another $500 million. A contribution of the same size was made last August,...
Southeast Asia's unloved
Southeast Asia is in vogue, seen by many as an increasingly credible alternative to China and India. Indonesia, as the region’s only market of scale, has naturally attracted the most interest. Virtually every regional and global private equity firm has...
Australia's Next Capital buys Scottish Pacific from Lazard
Next Capital completed the acquisition of Australian debt finance company Scottish Pacific from Lazard Australia Private Equity. The transaction value wasn’t disclosed but local media reports put it at around A$90 million ($82.6 million).
Navis exits Australian oil and gas services provider
Navis Capital Partners has exited Callidus Process Solutions, an Australian industry valve maintenance specialist serving mining and oil and gas sites, to Pon Holdings Australia (PHA).
PE consortium, strategics proceed in Optus bidding – report
A consortium comprising The Blackstone group, TPG Capital and Malaysia’s Measat Global has reportedly progressed to the final round of bidding for Optus Satellite, Singapore Telecommunications' (SingTel) Australian satellite unit. France's Eutelsat Communications...
AMP Capital pays $409m for Powerco NZ stake
AMP Capital has agreed to buy 42% of Powerco NZ Holdings, New Zealand’s second largest electricity and gas distribution company, from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners for NZ$525 million ($409 million). It is investing on behalf of several clients and...
Anacacia exits Rafferty's to PZ Cussons for 10x return - Update
Anacacia Capital has sold baby-food producer Rafferty’s Garden to London-listed PZ Cussons for GBP42.2 million ($64 million). The Australia GP is understood to have generated a 10x return on an investment made three years ago.
VIDEO: David Grayce of Pacific Equity Partners
Take-private opportunities emerge at certain points in a market cycle, driven by the cost of funding a deal – in debt and equity terms – versus the market valuation of the asset. In Australia another factor as also come to the fore in recent years: shareholder...
Ironbridge targets full buyout of Australia's Bravura
Ironbridge Capital has made an offer to acquire a further one-third stake in listed Australian life insurance and wealth management provider Bravura Solutions. The offer values the company at A$172.7 million ($158.3 million).
Australia's Advent raises $184m for Fund VI
Australian GP Advent Private Capital has reached a final close of approximately A$200 million ($184 million) on its sixth fund. The corpus is smaller than Fund V, which raised A$300 million in 2006, but the new fund will rely on co-investment from LPs...
PEP-owned American Stock Transfer refinances debt – report
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) is said to have tapped the US markets to refinance $480 million in debt held by portfolio company American Stock Transfer (AST). This is the third time in less than two months that firms owned by the Australian GP have completed...
Telstra Ventures provides Series D funding for Kony Solutions
Telstra Ventures, the VC arm of Australian telecom operator Telstra, has committed $18.3 million in a Series D round of funding for Kony Solutions, a US-based mobile applications developer. The size of its stake was not disclosed.
KKR-backed GenesisCare taps US debt markets
GenesisCare, a healthcare business controlled by KKR, has become the latest Australian PE-backed company to refinance its debt via the US high-yield market. A string of corporates are taking advantage of strong liquidity in the US leveraged market, where...
Carlyle, Seven to retain ownership of Australia's Coates Hire
The Carlyle Group and Seven Group Holdings have decided against pursuing an exit from Australian equipment-leasing business Coates Hire following a strategic review. The co-owners said they remain fully committed to growing the business.
Hawkesbridge seeks Australian bottled water company exit
Hawkesbridge Capital is seeking a potential buyer for Noble Beverages, the Australian company behind the bottled water brand Pureau.The Sydney-based private equity firm made a succession play for the family-owned company back in 2004, acquiring a majority...
Australia's M.H. Carnegie, Vivant Ventures launch accelerator
M.H. Carnegie & Co, the venture capital firm set up by Australian investor Mark Carnegie, has launched an A$80 million ($76 million) accelerator fund for emerging technology companies. It will be run in collaboration with Vivant Ventures, an Australia-based...
KKR, Blackstone, Carlyle among bidders for SingTel Australia unit - report
KKR, The Blackstone Group and The Carlyle Group are said to have submitted first-round bids for Optus Satellite, the Australian satellite unit of Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel).