Australia
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...
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...
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...
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:...
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).
CHAMP, Headland seek to oust Miclyn directors
Headland Capital Partners and CHAMP Private Equity, majority shareholders of Miclyn Express Offshore, are looking to jettison two of the company's independent directors, saying the move would be in the interests of shareholders.
John Brakey quits as head of PE at Australia's MLC
John Brakey has resigned as head of private equity at MLC, National Australia Bank's (NAB) wealth management division. His replacement is Natalie Meyenn, who moves up from her role as chief investment officer at the PE division.
Quadrant-backed Virtus Health jumps 9% on ASX debut
Shares in Virtus Health, an Australian in-vitro fertilization company backed by Quadrant Private Equity, closed up 9% at A$6.20 on its first day of trading on the Australian Securities Exchange. The IPO had been priced at the top end of the indicative...
Regulator blocks Anacacia exit of Rafferty’s to Heinz
Anacacia Capital’s sale of baby-food producer Rafferty’s Garden to H.J. Heinz has been blocked by the Australian Competition and Consumer Association (ACCC). The regulator decided that the transaction would give Heinz an unfairly dominant market position.
Australia’s QIC enters US retail property market
Australian institutional investment manager QIC has made its first direct investment into the US property market after taking a position in eight regional retail malls worth $2.05 billion. QIC’s global real estate division will put in $435.6 million...
Australia’s PEP eyes US debt financing market
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) is considering US refinancing options for several of its portfolio companies after a well received debt offering for movie theater chain Hoyts in May. The Australian GP is one of several to opt for US over domestic debt markets,...
Q&A: Pacific Equity Partners' Tony Duthie
As one of Asia’s more mature markets, Australia has a different offering to most in the regional basket. Tony Duthie, managing director at Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), discusses buyouts, leverage and co-investment
TA-owned SpeedCast acquires Australia's Pactel
TA Associates-backed SpeedCast has acquired Pactel International, an Australia-based satellite communications service provider for an undisclosed sum, as part of effort to strengthen its presence in Asia.