PRIVATE EQUITY – AUSTRALIA

Court clears Village deal as dissenter stays away

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Original article by Max Maddison
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 16-Dec-20

The Federal Court has approved BGH Capital’s deal to acquire cinemas and theme parks group Village Roadshow. The company’s shareholders recently endorsed BGH’s scheme A offer of $3 per share. New York-based fund manager Mittleman Brothers opted against making an application to appear before the court, having been a vocal opponent of the takeover bid. BGH will have a 78 per cent stake in Village Roadshow, while the Kirby family and former CEO Graham Burke will hold a stake of about 22 per cent

CORPORATES
VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD, MITTLEMAN BROTHERS LLC, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BGH lifts takeover offer for Village

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Original article by Ben Wilmot
The Australian – Page: 21 : 20-Nov-20

BGH Capital is set to increase its takeover offer for Village Roadshow from $2.22 per share to $3, valuing its revised bid at $586m. Spheria Asset Management’s portfolio manager Matthew Booker has previously indicated that an offer of around $3 per share should satisfy shareholders; Spheria has a 7.8 per cent stake in Village. However, 14.34 per cent shareholder Mittleman Brothers is of the view that the revised offer still undervalues the cinemas and theme parks group.

CORPORATES
VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD, SPHERIA ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Bauer Media offloads Aussie magazine arm for $50m, eight years after buying it for $525m

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Original article by Shannon Molloy
News.com.au – Page: Online : 18-Jun-20

Private equity firm Mercury Capital has struck a deal to acquire the Australian magazines business of Bauer Media. The sale price has not been disclosed, although it is believed to be less than $50m. Germany-based Bauer bought ACP Magazines for $525m in 2012, and it recently paid $40m for the Pacific Magazines division of Seven West Media. The Mercury Capital deal is expected to be completed in July.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MERCURY CAPITAL PTY LTD, BAUER MEDIA KG, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Bankers ready for GFC-style raising spree

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Original article by Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 6-Apr-20

Australian companies are looking to equity funding to assist them through the COVID-19 pandemic, and private equity firms are eager to participate in possible transactions. The ASX has temporarily amended its listing rules to allow companies to raise more funds via non-renounceable rights issues and share placements, while coronavirus-impacted companies that are tipped to undertake equity raisings include Virgin Australia, Sydney Airport and Tabcorp.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, WEBJET LIMITED – ASX WEB, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX CTD, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, NEXTDC LIMITED – ASX NXT, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH

Mercury gives up on Bauer buyout

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 17 : 23-Jan-20

Bauer Media Australia CEO Brendon Hill has confirmed that private equity firm Mercury Capital has withdrawn its offer to acquire the magazine publisher. Hill added that Bauer is open to another approach from the private equity sector if the company’s proposed merger with Pacific Magazines goes ahead. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission recently expressed concern about the potential impact of the merger on competition in the magazine sector.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, MERCURY CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

EMR plots production boost

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 16-Jan-20

A consortium headed by private equity firm EMR Capital has acquired the Ravenswood gold mine in Queensland from Resolute Mining. Production costs at Ravenswood averaged more than $2,000 an ounce in the first half of 2019; gold is currently trading at around $2,200 an ounce in Australian dollar terms, and around $US1,551 an ounce. EMR Capital is confident that plans to increase production will enable the mine to remain profitable even if the gold price falls below $US1,300 an ounce.

CORPORATES
RESOLUTE MINING LIMITED – ASX RSG, EMR CAPITAL PTY LTD

Village Roadshow screened rival offer before Pacific Equity Partners deal

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Original article by Kylar Loussikian, Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 24-Dec-19

Morningstar estimates that there is a 75 per cent chance that Village Roadshow Limited shareholders will accept a takeover proposal from Pacific Equity Partners. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Village Roadshow Corporation’s owners considered a rival offer from BGH Capital before agreeing to accept PEP’s offer for its stake in VRL. VRC is owned by Robert Kirby, John Kirby and VRL CEO Graham Burke.

CORPORATES
VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, VILLAGE ROADSHOW CORPORATION LIMITED, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD

Private equity raids the Village

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Original article by Ben Wilmot, Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 15 & 21 : 20-Dec-19

Pacific Equity Partners has made a conditional, non-binding and indicative takeover offer for cinemas and theme parks group Village Roadshow. The offer of $3.90 per share values Village at about $1bn, or $761.2m when its debt is excluded. Shares in Village closed $0.69 higher at $3.89 on 19 December, in response to the private equity firm’s scheme of arrangement proposal.

CORPORATES
VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, VILLAGE ROADSHOW CORPORATION LIMITED, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD

Nine chases NZ media assets in QMS carve-up

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Original article by Bridget Carter, Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Oct-19

QMS Media’s board has recommended that shareholders accept a cash offer of $1.22 per share from Quadrant Private Equity, in the latest deal in Australia’s outdoor advertising sector. Meanwhile, Nine Entertainment Company has declined to comment on speculation that it could be interested in buying some of QMS’s assets in New Zealand, including radio stations and its outdoor advertising business. QMS has a 40 per cent stake in MediaWorks, which owns New Zealand TV stations such as TV3 and Bravo, and radio stations such as Magic and The Edge.

CORPORATES
QMS MEDIA LIMITED – ASX QMS, QUADRANT PRIVATE EQUITY PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MEDIAWORKS (NZ) LIMITED, TV3 NETWORK LIMITED, BRAVO, MAGIC, THE EDGE, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, KKR AND COMPANY LP, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, STUFF LIMITED, JC DECAUX SA, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED, ADSHEL PTY LTD, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1

Cashed-up PE firms warned on overpaying

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Original article by Bo Seo, Jemima Whyte
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 15 : 3-Jan-19

Data from the Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association shows that the private equity sector completed $6.9bn worth of deals in 2018. Private equity firms have an additional $9.7bn available for acquisitions in 2019. However, Quadrant Private Equity’s executive chairman Chris Hadley says they must avoid paying too much, particularly for lower-quality assets. Meanwhile, experts say the private equity sector’s business model is changing, with more funds opting to partner with super funds and other institutional investors.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, QUADRANT PRIVATE EQUITY PTY LTD, TPG CAPITAL LP, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, GREENCROSS LIMITED – ASX GXL, PETCO ANIMAL SUPPLIES INCORPORATED, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, WESTCONNEX, KKR AND COMPANY LP, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, NAVITAS LIMITED – ASX NVT, THE CARLYLE GROUP, CAMPBELL INTERNATIONAL, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD