Australia
Australian infrastructure: Changing tastes
Australia’s superannuation funds are active infrastructure investors, but the size and nature of commitments to the asset class are influenced by past experience, available resources and risk appetite
Founder of Australia's Seek plans PE platform
Paul Bassat, co-founder of Australian job search site Seek, is looking to set up a private equity platform with Tony Holt, who recently left his position as a senior managing director with Macquarie Group in Hong Kong.
VIDEO: CHAMP Private Equity's John Haddock
The rise of Asian strategic buyers is creating a new exit channel for Australian private equity firms, according to John Haddock, managing director at CHAMP Private Equity. The GP has direct exposure to this trend, having exited Manassen Foods to China’s...
Anchorage buys Dick Smith Electronics from Woolworths
Anchorage Capital Partners will buy Australian supermarket chain Woolworths’ Dick Smith Electronics unit for an initial A$20 million ($18 million) plus a share of any upside resulting from the private equity firm exiting the asset. The divestment comes...
Australia's CHAMP PE secures $206m Southeast Asia deal
CHAMP Private Equity has acquired a significant minority stake in shipping services provider Miclyn Express Offshore (MEO) from Macquarie Capital Group for around A$199 million ($206 million). It represents another step in the Australian GP’s strategy...
Australian Super CEO hits out at PE fees
The chief executive of Australia’s largest industry superannuation fund has criticized the level of fees charged by private equity fund managers and argues that their compensation model needs to change.
Baker & McKenzie's global PE head to join King & Wood Mallesons - report
Baker & McKenzie’s global head of private equity, Mark McNamara, is reportedly leaving the firm to join King & Wood Mallesons in a similar role.
TPG's Billabong rival abandons bid
TPG Capital’s rival bidder for Australian surfwear company Billabong International has dropped out of the running. Billabong only identified the group that offered to match TPG’s A$694 million ($709 million) buyout bid as a private equity firm. According...
CVC's Australia head resigns
CVC Capital Partners’ Adrian MacKenzie, the managing partner responsible for investments in Australia, has resigned. The move comes as the private equity firm prepares to write off almost the entire A$1.9 billion ($1.97 billion) in equity that was pumped...
MGPA acquires Australian property for $110m
MGPA, a private equity real estate investment firm, has acquired a property of retail and office spaces located in Sydney, Australia, for A$105.1 million ($110 million).
NBC Capital reaps 20% IRR from Fenix Fitness
When it comes to assisting the growth of their portfolio companies, some PE firms are more hands-on than others. At the more pro-active end of the scale sit the likes of NBC Capital, which during its four-and-a-half-year ownership of local health club...
MGPA reaches first close on real estate fund
The latest fund being raised by MGPA marks a departure from the investment firm’s previous real estate vehicles. MGPA Asien Spezialfonds, which announced a first close on EUR85 million ($111 million) last week, represents the firm’s first so-called yield-focused...
Blue Sky makes new executive appointment
Blue Sky Alternative Investments has hired Lachlan McMurdo from Bain & Company as investment manager of the private equity division. He will be responsible for the company’s existing portfolio, as well as covering rapidly growing SMEs across sectors such...
Quay poaches Reed from Pantheon for US
Australian private equity fund-of-funds and advisory firm Quay Partners has hired Jeffrey Reed from Pantheon Ventures, the UK fund-of-funds, to help manage its US operations in San Francisco.
NBC Capital sells Fenix Fitness Clubs for $64m
NBC Capital has sold its Australian health club chain Fenix Fitness Clubs to Ardent Leisure Group for A$60.9 million ($64 million).
Goldman rejects hedge funds' Nine restructuring plan
Goldman Sachs has rejected a counter-proposal from hedge funds Oaktree Capital and Apollo Global Management for restructuring Nine Entertainment, the Australian media company owned by CVC Capital Partners.
Carlyle-backed Haier offers $705m for Fisher & Paykel
Carlyle-backed Haier Group has put in a NZ$869 million ($705 million) buyout offer for Fisher & Paykel Appliances (F&P), the New Zealand-based kitchen and appliance manufacturer. The Chinese company is willing to pay NZ$1.20 per share in cash - a 15.4%...
Lazard extends Australia corporate advisory reach
Lazard Australia has agreed to purchase independent corporate advisory firm O’Sullivan Partners. The Sydney-based player is an acknowledged media specialist and can also claim to have won several notable private equity mandates, including three from KKR....
Goldman tables Nine Entertainment debt proposal – report
Goldman Sachs has reportedly put together a restructuring proposal for Nine Entertainment that would see the Australian company’s A$3.8 billion ($3.9 billion) in debt convert to equity, writing off the vast majority of CVC Capital Partners’ investment....
Blackstone appoints ex-Archer partner as Australia senior advisor
The Blackstone Group has appointed James Carnegie as a senior advisor based in Sydney, where he will focus primarily on developing the firm’s private equity activity in Australia. He previously spent seven years at Archer Capital, leaving the local GP...
General Catalyst invests $20m in Australia's Bigcommerce
Australian e-commerce start-up Bigcommerce has won $20 million in Series B funding from General Catalyst Partners. The US venture capital firm previously invested $15 million just over a year ago.
Rival PE firm matches TPG's $709m Billabong offer
A rival private equity firm – reportedly Bain Capital – has offered to match TPG Capital’s A$694 million ($709 million) buyout bid for Australian surfwear company Billabong International. The Billabong board maintains that neither offer reflects the fundamental...
CVC's Nine sells magazine unit to service debts
CVC Capital Partners-owned Nine Entertainment has sold its ACP Magazines division to German publisher Bauer for A$500 million ($510 million). The proceeds will go towards paying down some of the Australian media company’s debt, with a senior tranche of...
Blue Sky PE injects $3 million into Australian caterer
Blue Sky Private Equity has funneled A$3 million ($3.1 million) into Oil Industry Catering & Services, a provider of catering and support services to the Australian mining industry.