Australian businesses prepare for the new privacy regime
Minter Ellison’s pre-eminent private equity team advises many of the leading domestic and regional private equity funds that invest in Australasia. Our leveraged finance team also works extensively in private equity acting for the lending banks and mezzanine providers. The combined strength of the team has enabled us to advise on many of the best known transactions in Australasia in recent years, and on larger transactions for regional funds.
Our private equity experience includes management buyouts, secondary buyouts and dual track exit transactions. We also provide integrated capability covering all aspects of alternative investments including fund formation and structuring, capital raising, offshore fundraising, tax structuring, and local and offshore investments.
Minter Ellison’s international office network gives our private equity team a seamless multi-jurisdictional capability for bolt on, domestic and offshore private equity investments, and for rolling out expansion strategies.
We have substantial experience in developing and executing strategies for private equity funds to exit their investments. We work closely with the firm’s ECM and M&A experts to provide the complementary legal expertise on exits via IPOs or trade sale.
Advised Australian private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners on a share purchase agreement with Woolworths Limited to acquire Dick Smith Electronics. Under the agreement, Anchorage will purchase 100% of the business, including 327 stores employing more than 4,500 people. The transaction is expected to complete in late 2012.
Acted for Quadrant Private Equity on the acquisition of a majority stake in furniture super retailer Super A-Mart and Barbecues Galore. Minter Ellison advised Quadrant on purchaser due diligence and negotiation of the sale as well as purchase documentation for each acquisition. We also acted for Quadrant on the negotiation of the shareholder arrangements. Ironbridge Capital, Macquarie Group, and Partners Group are rolling over their existing stakes. Singapore's GIC Special Investment sold its interest.
Advised Affinity Equity Partners on the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Primo Smallgoods, Australia's largest producer of ham, bacon and small goods, alongside the founding family.
Advised on Wolseley Private Equity's acquisition of AGS. Wolseley Partners Fund II has made a new investment into AGS World Transport, a large shipping wholesale freight forwarding company headquartered in Sydney.
Advised Quadrant Private Equity on their $272 million joint venture with APN News & Media Limited to form the "Outdoor Joint Venture". APN is the owner of the largest outdoor advertising business in Australia and New Zealand, a sector that is experiencing strong growth in an evolving media landscape. Quadrant and APN will each hold 50% of the joint venture, which is unusual for the Australian private equity market where PE usually acquires 100% of the joint venture. The Outdoor JV will combine APN's operational and media expertise with Quadrant's strategic capabilities and additional capital. It will cover all of APN's Australian and New Zealand businesses, as well as APN's 50% interest in Rainbow Premium Outdoor, its Indonesian outdoor business.
Advised on the restructure of the Curry-Kenny Aviation Group and acquisition of a controlling interest by Helmsman Capital Fund II.
Advised Anchorage Capital Partners on the sale of Antares Restaurant Group, the entity which operates Burger King stores in New Zealand, to New York-based Blackstone Group.
Advised Allegro Funds on the acquisition of Vulcanite Pty Ltd, a leading supplier of engineered parts and equipment for passenger trains in Australia and internationally.
Acted for Equity Partners in relation to its exit from Skins, the leading designer and marketer of premium compression sports apparel. We also advised Equity Partners on its initial investment in 2007 when the Fund provided expansion capital to Skins. Over the four year period of its investment, revenue grew from $16 million per annum to $50 million per annum. This deal won Equity Partners the award for Best Expansion stage portfolio at the 2012 AVCAL awards.
Advised Lazard Private Equity on their significant minority investment in 2XU ("Two Times You"), the leading technical performance sports apparel brand, known in particular for its compression garments. 2XU's products are sold in over 40 countries and are used by elite athletes around the world. The investment was made using funds raised by Lazard's Corporate Opportunity Fund 2 (Fund 2) and will aid the company's imminent goal to dominate technical sports apparel markets across the globe.