It’s been a smashing year for Australian based private equity deals, which have already surpassed the total value of deals completed in the 2013 financial year.
Dr Kar Mei Tang, the head of research at the Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCAL) said the results come on the back of last year’s downturn.
PRIVATE equity’s mood in Australia is noticeably upbeat at the Asian Venture Capital Journal’s annual conference in Sydney.
The global private equity giants such as Carlyle, KKR and TPG together with local equity powerhouses Archer Capital, Quadrant Private Equity and Pacific Equity Partners are seeking to make 2014 either a banner year for exits or acquisitions.
Commercial iwi heavyweights Tainui Group Holdings and Ngai Tahu Capital have teamed up with private investor Pioneer Capital to buy dairy technology manufacturer Waikato Milking Systems for an undisclosed sum.
The three parties will hold a third of equity in the partnership with senior management to take a minority stake in a deal expected to settle on March 31, they said in a statement. They bought the stake after Waikato Milking Systems shareholder UPC Capital engaged PwC to run a sale process last year attracting local and international interest. No price was disclosed.
The prospect of being able to recharge devices such as smartphones and cameras wirelessly has edged closer after two international standards bodies merged.
Auckland firm PowerbyProxi, which is a global player in the nascent wireless charging industry with 130 patents, and deals with technology giants Samsung and Texas Instruments, could be one of the beneficiaries.
Wireless charging promises to let consumers get rid of a spaghetti of cables and adapters in their homes, but rival technical standards have threatened to slow progress.
New capital committed to Australian venture capital and later stage private equity funds decreased by 77 per cent ($2.4 billion) in the 2012-13 financial year according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
“This is the largest decrease we have seen since we first started publishing this data for the 2004-05 financial year,” said Ms Tracey Rowley, Assistant Director of Research and Development Surveys.