The team from Lewis Corporate Advisory has worked with private equity companies around the world for over 25 years and has extensive relationships across the financial sponsor universe in Australia and overseas.
We focus on the mid-market PE players, who look to write equity cheques between $5m and $100m.
Each of these players can be distinguished by the size of the opportunities they target, their sector focus and their investment criteria. Some firms require controlling stakes while others are prepared to make minority investments. Whatever the size of the stake, all private equity investors are seeking to increase value by providing capital and expertise to allow businesses to achieve their full potential.
We will always seek to match the investor most likely to bring value to any client seeking private equity funding.
Private Equity entered the COVID era with an unprecedented war chest, estimated to be US$2-3 trillion world-wide. Although PE focused primarily on managing investee businesses for the first few months of the COVID crisis, they were active throughout 2021 and continue to hold unprecedent levels of “dry powder”.
The recent market correction, rising interest rates and 40-year high inflation levels will all cause dealmakers to review opportunities with a different lens.
Lower valuations are expected to provide opportunities for corporate and PE dealmakers to generate healthy returns in the current volatile market. We are likely to see continuing active deployment of private equity capital through 2022 and beyond.
Examples of Private Equity transactions we have led include:
Private Equity
- Advising on aggregation in building materials sector (current)
- Advised Uprise on sale to IBH Population Health Solutions (now Uprise Health, owned by Periscope Equity)
- Advised EFT NZ on sale to Potentia backed PC EFTPOS (Linkly)
- Advised Model Answers on sale to Parexel (owned by Pamplona Private Equity)
- Advised Gale Pacific on Shareholder Value Realisation Review (IWPE were substantial shareholder)
- Advised Inghams Enterprises on $880m sale to TPG
- Advised Oaktree backed Elgin National Industries on US$292m sale of Roberts & Schaefer to KBR
- Advised Sportstec on sale to US-based and Accel backed Hudl
- Advised PAG Asia on acquisition of The Cheesecake Shop
- Joint Lead Manager on $3.6bn IPO of Healthscope
- Advised Safe Work Laboratories on majority sale to Pathology Asia Holdings (owned by TPG)
- Advised Fonterra on the sale of its WA dairy assets to Archer Capital
- Advised Global pharma group on bid for iNova
- Advised on PE backed potential roll-up of mid-tier chicken producers
- Advised privately owned ready-meal food business on potential sale options
