Australia
Blue Sky makes two hires, opens Sydney office
Australia’s Blue Sky Alternative Investments has hired two executives with corporate finance private equity backgrounds to run its operations in Sydney and Adelaide.
Australia’s Pacific Road in Canadian resources deal – report
Australian private equity firm Pacific Road Capital Partners is investing A$10 million ($10.2 million) in coal mining firm CoalMont to fund its mining project in Canada.
Archer-owned Australian Aged Care buys Lend Lease's care unit
Australian Aged Care Partners, an Archer Capital portfolio company, has agreed to buy property group Lend Lease's aged care unit for A$270 million ($276 million). The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of March 2013.
IREIFS allocates $500m for Australasian investments
Global boutique PE firm International Real Estate Investment & Financing Solutions Group (IREIFS) has allocated $500 million to invest in Australia and New Zealand.
Q&A: CHAMP Private Equity's John Haddock
Australian companies are increasingly open to the prospect of working with a financial investor and seeking growth away from the public spotlight, says John Haddock, managing director at CHAMP Private Equity.
Global access: Australian LPs and international PE
Australia's superannuation industry is still embroiled in a costs debate as funds decide whether a private equity strategy makes economic sense. Those sticking with the asset class are looking to go offshore
Going walkabout: Australian outbound investment
Taking portfolio companies from Australia into Asia represents a major opportunity for private equity. Pan-regional funds see it as a key part of their strategy, but can domestic players join the party?
Leveraged finance: New faces, slower processes
The withdrawal of Western banks from Australia's leveraged financing market has created opportunities for others. A general sense of caution means that, while debt is available, it won't necessarily come quickly
Provident increases stake in mining firm Sumatra
Provident Capital Partners has upped its stake in Sumatra Copper & Gold, an Australian-listed mining company operating on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The investment forms part of A$63 million ($64 million) in debt and equity funding for the company's...
KKR, Allegro target Australia's ailing Geon
KKR and Allegro Funds have placed Australian commercial printing company Geon Group into administration and are looking to buy parts of the business out of receivership. The pair became creditors last year following the acquisition of a portfolio of distressed...
CHAMP affiliate Castle Harlan promotes Tariq Osman
Tariq Osman has been promoted to managing director with the CHAMP Private Equity's New York affiliate Castle Harlan.
Australian GPs see strong investment climate, challenges for exits
Australia’s private equity investment environment is at its strongest in five years but this is tempered by managers facing more challenges selling portfolio companies, according to Anthony Kerwick, managing director at Pacific Equity Partners (PEP).
OTPP closes in on Leighton's telecom assets
Australian contractor Leighton Holdings is in exclusive negotiations to sell 70% of its telecom assets Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), for around A$620 million ($634 million).
Warburg Pincus' Goldfaden to relocate to Australia - report
Warburg Pincus is to relocate Managing Director Jeffrey Goldfaden to Sydney as it looks to open a permanent office in Australia.
IREIFS expands SE Asia presence, targets Australasia and India
Paris-based private equity firm IREIFS Partners is to expand its Southeast Asian presence in response to increasing activity in the Asia Pacific region.
Advent generates 2.5x on rationalization play
Locker Group Holdings, an Australian metal products manufacturer recently exited by Advent Private Capital to US-based Valmont, is an example of post-global financial crisis rationalization.
The perils of over-ambition
Asahi's acquisition of Independent Liquor came towards the end of a period of frenetic outbound activity among Japanese beverage giants. Kirin bought Australia’s Lion Nathan, took a minority stake in Singapore-based Fraser &Neave and then rounded it...
Australian government commits $360m to innovation fund, clarifies VC structures
The Australian government will provide A$350 million ($360 million) in new funding for the Innovation Investment Fund to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Improvements have also been made to the early stage and venture capital limited...
Asahi accuses Independent Liquor of ‘channel stuffing’
Asahi claims that Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) and Unitas Capital resorted to “channel stuffing” – where companies supply retailers with more product than they are capable of selling to boost sales figures – to artificially inflate Independent...
Australia’s AMP Capital invests $100m in US wind energy project
AMP Capital has injected $100 million in Capistrano Wind Partners, a large-scale wind energy project developer in North America, alongside a consortium of infrastructure investors. AMP made the commitment on behalf of a large Australian superannuation...
Canada’s OMERS targets Australia
Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS), one of Canada’s big three pension funds, plans to increase its exposure to Australia through investments in infrastructure and natural resources.
Reserve Bank of Australia sells subsidiary to PE-backed Innovia
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is to sell its 50% stake in Securency International, a company which produces polymer-based print material for banknotes, to Innovia Films, a UK packaging manufacturer backed by Arle Capital Partners. Innovia already...
Australia’s Hastings adds to North America team
Australian infrastructure investor Hastings Funds Management has appointed Irene Mavroyannis as executive director with responsibility for business development in the US and Canada. She will join the existing investment team in New York.
MVision opens Australia office
Placement agent MVision has opened a new office in Sydney, Australia. The move will allow MVision, which currently has a number of investment manager clients in Australia, to expand its reach into the Asia Pacific private equity market.