DataRoom AM: Macquarie moves on
The silver donut is hanging up its private equity boots, according to a media report. Meanwhile, Australia’s investment banking fee pool is drying up despite the IPO bump.
Elsewhere, ANZ has grabbed Flagstaff Partners to dial it up on its trustee unit sale, Australia’s forests have a new admirer with serious money to spend and an Australian technology leader is eyeing a fund for himself.
Investment bank Macquarie Group is getting out of the private equity fund management business, according to The Australian Financial Review.
The newspaper understands Macquarie Investment Management Private Markets and its $5 billion in assets under management will be flogged to its current management team.
The news means the silver donut will relinquish its title as Australia’s oldest active private equity investor.
Speaking of investment banks, the latest numbers from Dealogic show the industry’s fee pool so far has shrunk to its lowest levels since 2010.
As of March 14, the total coin in the investment banking cookie jar for 2014 was just $US220 million ($243 million), 10 per cent down on last year.
This comes despite an uptick in IPO activity, which was hoped to be the sector that would drag investment bank fees out of the doldrums. Instead, it’s just preventing a further decline.
Meanwhile, ANZ Banking Group has appointed advisor Flagstaff Partners to crank up the sale of its trustee unit. Fairfax Media understands final bids are due by the end of March, which could top $120 million.
Elsewhere, San Francisco’s New Forests is planning a new wave of deals with $1.7 billion set for Australian and New Zealand state-owned assets.
New Forests chief executive David Brand told The Wall Street Journal that a new $707 million investment fund is a fresh injection for up to $1.7 billion to be thrown at forests in this direction.
And while we’re on the topic, Fortescue billionaire Andrew Forrest (who could resist that segueway?) has spent $5 million on the iron ore miner’s shares, which are down 15.6 per cent over the last month thanks to the mineral’s slide.
Former Microsoft executive Daniel Petre, a leader in Australian technology for more than 20 years, is prepping for a $50 million technology investment fund launch, according to The Australian Financial Review.
The newspaper says Petre is understood to be teaming up with zeebox chief executive Craig Blair to target the $2 million to $5 million investment gap that’s currently poorly served by the venture capital players.
And finally, Macquarie is running an IPO roadshow on the east coast this week for Japara Holdings, ahead of a $300 million to $400 million raising slated for early next month.
Alexander Liddington-Cox is a freelance business journalist based in the Middle East.
Follow @aliddingtoncox on Twitter.