Transactions

Founded in 2002, Bottlecycler Australia Pty Ltd (“BottleCycler”) provides leading glass recycling solution for the on-premise glass consumption sector. Its innovative on-site glass crushing technology reduces glass volume by up to 80%, enabling efficient storage and recycling of glass bottles in venues, alongside other OH&S benefits.

M&A Partners is currently engaging as Sell Side advisor to identify potential acquirers for BottleCycler.

Australian Glass Group (AGG) is a leading glass processor in Australia, specializing in high-performance glass products, particularly insulated glass units (IGUs) and laminated glass. With three processing plants located in NSW, VIC, and TAS, AGG offers a wide range of glass solutions, including custom lamination, heat treating, and cutting services, while focusing on energy efficiency and sustainability in building design.

M&A Partners acted for the purchaser to facilitate capital raising for the acquisition of AGG.

Founded in 2009, Wallaby is a well-recognized brand in the healthy snack segment. Wallaby’s products, including the popular Wallaby Bites, are distributed across major Australian retailers and internationally in markets like the Middle East and New Zealand.

M&A Partners is currently engaging as Sell Side advisor to identify potential acquirers for Wallaby.

Tourism Adventure Group (TAG) is Australia’s leading hostel and adventure tourism operator. With the 12 hostels and 3130 beds across Australia and New Zealand, TAG ranks as the 6th largest operator globally.

M&A Partners engaged as the corporate advisor on capital raising to support TAG’s expansion in Southeast Asia.

Safetech is Australia’s leading designer and manufacturer of logistical and lifting equipment, including dock products, freight hoists, scissor lifts, pallet loading and handling equipment, and vehicle lifts. More than 80% of Australia’s supermarkets utilise Safetech’s logistical equipment and its products provide critical support to Australian manufacturers, warehouses, miners, and commercial builders.

M&A Partners advised Safetech on the sale to the Singapore-based industrial conglomerate, Jebsen & Jessen Group. Through its strategic partnership, Jebsen & Jessen has acquired a majority (85%) stake in Safetech which will give it access to Safetech’s Australian-designed and manufactured products and Safetech’s tier one customer base.

Metal Manufactures Pty Limited was established in 1916 and has evolved into a large and diverse Australian company. Current operations of Metal Manufactures Pty Limited include MM Electrical Merchandising (MMEM), MM Kembla, MM Plastics, Rushmore Distributors, MM Security, MM Infrastructure Supplies, Synergy Business Systems and Building & Industrial Supplies Group/CSS, employing over 4,000 staff.

M&A Partners acted for Metal Manufactures (MM) on the acquisition of Convic Australia. Convic Australia a family-owned business in Thomastown specialising in the supply of specialised PVC and accessory products into the electrical, communications and civil industries in Victoria. The product range includes Underground Civil Supplies, predominately conduit, bends, pits and accessories, stormwater and PVC pressure pipe.

NVP is a leading provider of Counselling and Psychology services to national Employee Assistance Program providers, major Australian corporates, GP clinics and private individuals. The business operates Australia wide across 55 clinics and has over 150 clinicians providing psychology and counselling services.

M&A Partners acted as corporate advisor to NVP in the sale to Partnered Health, a portfolio company of Quadrant Private Equity. The Partnered Health Group is made up of several established businesses that have been delivering health services to over five million people for more than 25 years.

Probuild Constructions was a Tier One builder in Victoria with a 40-year history as a key player in the Victorian commercial building industry. In February 2022, both Probuild and its related entity WBHO Infrastructure entered voluntary administration (VA) following the withdrawal of financial support from the parent company WBHO Ltd. At the time of VA, Probuild had over $800 million in projects under construction and employed over 200 staff.

M&A Partners was engaged by Deloitte, the Voluntary Administrator of Probuild Constructions, to assist in identifying a suitable acquirer. In April 2022, M&A Partners presented the opportunity to Roberts Co, leading to the successful acquisition of the majority of Probuild’s assets. This transaction was anticipated to save over $100 million in potential creditor claims and mitigate substantial liquidated damages risks associated with ongoing project delays.

Bambody is a leading Amazon brand in the women’s incontinence underwear category. The company was founded by David Kyngdon and first launched on Amazon (USA) in 2018 and has become the number one Amazon brand in the women’s incontinence underwear category. The Bambody underwear range was designed in Australia and launched through Amazon to take advantage of a gap in the global market for a competitively priced, high-quality product targeted at a younger demographic.

M&A Partners acted as Sell Side Advisor to Bambody on its 100% sale to US based Amazon Aggregator, Heyday LLC. Heyday is a San Francisco-based business that acquires direct-to-consumer (‘D2C’) merchants and brands that have achieved initial success and accelerates their growth by leveraging the Amazon marketplace.

Synergy Business Systems (‘Synergy’) is a 100% Australian owned Construction & Industrial Supply Group that offers the most comprehensive inventory file available to the Australian construction, engineering, and industrial fastener industries.

M&A Partners, as financial advisor to the Synergy Board, were engaged in mid 2021 to advise Synergy on capital raising options for purpose of funding several acquisitions and a sell down of shares by existing shareholders. In February 2022, Metal Manufactures confirmed its offer to acquire 100% of ordinary equity of Synergy.

Founded in 2013, Inside Out Nutritious Goods is an Australian plant-based beverage business producing both fresh and long-life plant milk products. The business operates from a production facility in Silverwater, NSW, with the capacity to produce 7,000KG of almond milk concentrate per day. Inside Out has achieved significant ranging across major supermarkets around Australia, with products currently available at 750 Woolworths, 400 Coles and 600 independent retail markets.

M&A Partners acted as corporate advisor to Inside Out, assisting in capital raising and debt refinancing.

Founded in 1978, Corvina is a premium Australian snack food (health bars and chocolate) contract manufacturer based in Melbourne. Corvina co-manufactures health, wellness and nutritional products for leading consumer brands, with a loyal customer base and growing revenue and profitability.

M&A Partners acted as Sell Side advisor to the two partners in the business and developed a strategy to identify strategic acquirers for the business that would continue to leverage the unique manufacturing capabilities of the business across the health & wellness segments.

Launched in 1956, Deeko is a leading Australian consumer disposable tableware brand with a loyal customer base. With a wide range of products such as cutlery, bowls and napkins, Deeko has achieved significant ranging across major supermarkets and Metcash Outlets around Australia.

M&A Partners acted as the sell-side advisor to Sorbent for the divestment of Deeko.

Opened to the public in 2017, St Andrews Beach Brewery operates a brewery and restaurant business that produces and sells craft beer and cider. The company is situated on a 38-hectare property, located in the prime regions of the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria.

M&A Partners advised the major shareholders of St Andrews Beach Brewery on the restructure and integration of its freehold land and leasehold businesses operation. M&A Partners was able to undertake this analysis and recommend a valuation methodology for both entities and facilitate further discussion around the proposed cash / share exchange.

Supreme Packaging was founded in 1980 and is a privately-owned flexible packaging business based in Clayton, Victoria. The Company is a leading packaging solution business servicing the Fresh Produce, Bakery and Horticultural sectors.

M&A Partners acted as sell side advisor to the vendors of Supreme Packaging. The business was sold to Pro-Pac Packaging, the ASX listed manufacturer and distributor of industrial, flexible, and rigid packaging products. Pro-Pac Packaging was established in 1987, and is one of Asia Pacific’s largest manufacturer, importer and supplier of industrial packaging products.

Imperium Tourism Holdings (“ITH”) is a vertically and horizontally integrated tourism business that includes one of the largest experiential travel market aggregator platforms, its own adventure travel group, hostels and travel agency network.

M&A Partners was engaged to advise the Board of ITH on a capital restructuring as a result of the introduction of travel restrictions caused by Covid related shutdowns in Australia. The transaction resulted in ITH securing a debt funding line from Merricks Capital which extended its runway until the travel restrictions lifted.

Flamingo Ai is an ASX listed software-as-a-service business specializing in organizational knowledge & information sharing, which is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the growing demand for knowledge sharing solutions as employees increasingly work remotely.

M&A Partners acted as advisor to the Directors of Flamingo Ai in facilitating the sale of the business.

Hexion ANZ, a subsidiary of Hexion Inc, is the largest manufacturer of resins supplied to wood panel/particle board producers in Australia and New Zealand.

M&A Partners provided strategic advice.

Founded over 50 years ago, Superbee is one of the largest Australian owned honey processors and exporters, and has built a strong reputation for producing high quality Australian honey and bee products. Located in Forbes, NSW, the company has developed long-term relationships with customers including leading food service companies, independents, retailers and apiarists, as well as overseas customers in the Asia Pacific region.

M&A Partners acted as Sell Side advisor to identify potential acquirers for Superbee.

Datacom Business Services had predominantly operated as a stand-alone entity in the Datacom Group, providing specialist SAP based solutions focusing on Payroll and Human Capital Management to large organisations across Australia.

M&A Partners successfully advised Datacom in the sale of its Datacom Business Services division to Tambla, an ASX listed Australian innovative workforce management solution provider. This new acquisition provided Tambla with greater scale and capability to the products and services offered to its customers and business partners.

Juicy Isle manufactures and bottles a range of Tasmania’s leading juice and water brands. Through organic growth and a series of bolt on acquisitions Juicy Isle has transformed from a home delivery fruit juice manufacturer to a large scale beverage manufacturing and distribution business. Juicy Isle sources its produce from Tasmania, one of the most pristine areas on earth.

M&A Partners was engaged by Juicy Isle to identify a strategic investor for the business.

Established in 2000, Clarisse Enterprises Pty Ltd (CEPL) is the leading provider of Student Information Software (SIS) to Victorian Catholic Primary Schools.

M&A Partners advised on Sell Side transaction.

Signcraft is a leading manufacturer in the signage industry, specializing in the production of high-quality signage solutions, including wet and digital signage, for various businesses.

M&A Partners advised on a sell side transaction process.

TGM is a multidisciplinary engineering and surveying firm providing services such as civil engineering, structural engineering, urban planning, and surveying. Founded in 1995 TGM has an outstanding reputation in the Victorian market and employs a highly qualified/accredited team of 130+ professionals capable of delivering services in Civil, Surveying, Planning and Structural engineering.

M&A Partners successfully concluded a sell side process to Cardno, an ASX listed company. The transaction value was c $22m reflecting an acquisition multiple of 6x EBITDA.

Ferguson Group is Australia’s largest processor of Southern Rock Lobster with facilities in Adelaide, Port Macdonnell and Port Lincoln. The Company has a long history in the South Australian market with the 3rd generation of the Ferguson family now operating the business. The Ferguson Group business is vertically integrated from quota ownership, fishing operations and processing and export.

M&A Partners was engaged by Ferguson Fisheries Group to identify a strategic investor in the business and to lead the capital raising process.

Founded in 1985, GJK Facility Services is a multi-disciplined facilities management business with over 2,000 employees across Australia. The company offers a range of services including commercial cleaning, grounds maintenance, restoration, projects & maintenance, and support services.

M&A Partners advised on a Buy Side engagement identifying a number of suitable private businesses for GJK to acquire.

Pacific Food Industries (PFI) is a large contract manufacturing operation specialising in production of all types of wet sauces, condiments, jams and drinking / food products.

M&A Partners was engaged by PFI to provide strategic advice to the founders and Directors on opportunities for growth and expansion in the Australian market.

Kadac is one of Australia’s largest specialised distributors of health, nutritional and wellbeing products to specialty health food, stores, independent grocery stores and major supermarkets. The business has been operating for over 40 years and distributes over 3,500 SKU’s to over 2,000 customers and 6,000 stores nationally with a focus on all natural, chemical free and organic products sourced from Australia and around the world.

M&A Partners acted as Sell Side advisor to the Besen family (owners of Kadac) in the successful sale to New Development Corporation Pty Ltd, an Australian subsidiary of a diversified consumer goods group.

Based in Adealide Hills, South Australia, B-d. Farm Paris Creek (Paris Creek) is one of Australia’s finest organic-biodynamic dairy food and beverage businesses. Paris Creek was founded by Helmut and Ulli Spranz in 1995. The Company produces a range of premium biodynamic and organic dairy products including milk, cheese, yoghurt and butter. The Brand is well known in the South Australian market where it has dominant market share of organic dairy.

M&A Partners acted as sell side advisor in the successful sale to ASX listed Maggie Beer Group (MBH) for $34m. The acquisition by MBH brings together two iconic South Australian brands in Paris Creek and Maggie Beer.

Since 1992, NY Bagels is an Australian company that manufactures authentic New York-style bagels. In recent years the business had grown significantly, expanding to nation wide distribution with par-bake bagel products.

M&A Partners acted as corporate advisor to NY Bagels. NY Bagels was successfully acquired in December 2016 by Pacific Equity Partners as a bolt on acquisition to an existing bakery operation.

Buderim Group is Australia’s larger processor of Ginger product and also has interests in macadamia processing (Agrimac) and farm assets in Hawaii (Mac Farms). Buderim has over 100 years of history in the Queensland ginger market and the operations in the Yandina ginger factory have become a tourist attraction. Buderim Group was an ASX listed company and at the time of M&A Partners appointment, its principal banker – Rabobank – were seeking to engage the services of an IA to provide analysis on a debt reduction plan.

M&A Partners conducted a comprehensive strategic review of all business divisions including Yandina ginger processing, Agrimac macadamia process and MacFarms macadamia orchards in Hawaii. M&A Partners recommended an asset divestment strategy to the board which was supported by the Company’s bankers. Buderim Group was subsequently recapitalised with a Chinese fund acquiring a majority stake in the business.

Bluebird Foods is the NZ subsidiary of PepsiCo and was the owner of the leading muesli bar products business – Flemings in NZ.

M&A Partners acted for Bluebird Foods, an Auckland based subsidiary of Pepsico Inc. to divest their Flemings Muesli Bar business. Whilst holding a market leading position with their Flemings products, Bluebird had identified the asset as non-core and were seeking to divest the business and focus on their salty snacks business. The business was successfully sold to Prolife Foods NZ.

Assessments Australia is a leading independent assessment provider in the disability, education and aged care sectors for in excess of 10 years to State and Federal Governments and not-for-profit entities throughout Australia. Assessments Australia has developed a network of over 2,900 psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, nurses and other specialists to deliver standardised and non-standardised assessments and support planning services.

M&A Partners acted for Assessments Australia in the sale of the business to MAX Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of MAXIMUS. This allowed MAX Solutions, a leading US based service provider to Governments, to enhance its capability within Australia’s healthcare services sector, and to use the business as a platform to become a key provider of services under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (“NDIS”).

Flinders provides trust administration, agency, administrator, executor and estate planning services. Additionally, Flinders assists with the provision of services for native title trusts.

M&A Partners acted as corporate advisor to Flinders Australia and arranged the sale of the business to Australian Unity. Australian Unity were seeking a broader platform of in-demand services for their clients and members as well as the clients of their financial advisers and accountants.

Australian Stock Report (ASR) has been a leading provider of education and advisory services to retail ASX investors. The Company delivers daily and weekly information to clients via a suite of Trading, Investing and SMSF reports on a subscription basis.

M&A Partners acted as Sell Side advisor on its sale to Amalgamated Australian Investment Group (AAIG). The acquisition of ASR by AAIG is highly strategic with ASR having built strong relationships and a sizeable database of financially educated individuals. The acquisition of ASR includes a suite of online trading reports, the SMSF review and HC securities. ASR’s educational and events operations will be retained by the current owners moving forward.

Saleslink Australasia (Saleslink) is a retail sales management company that conducts national account management, field merchandising and order management for supermarkets, pharmacy, hardware, auto and department stores. They also provide consumer research and insights that add value to their sales partners.

M&A Partners was retained by Saleslink to identify a strategic partner for their business, which could assist the group to expand its investment activities in the FMCG sector. Saleslink was successfully acquired by MH Carnegie. Transaction size was c.$15m for a 50% stake.

Nuttelex is a privately owned Australian manufacturer of margarine under its famous brand name. Founded in Melbourne in 1932 it is the oldest margarine brand in Australia. It is a plant based product using non GMO ingredients. It has a state of the art manufacturing plant in Cranbourne, Victoria.

M&A Partners was engaged under an acquisition search mandate to seek niche FMCG business for Nuttelex.

Australian Unity is a member-owned financial, health, and care services organization offering insurance, investments, banking, aged care, and retirement solutions, focused on improving the wellbeing of its members and communities.

M&A Partners advised Australian Unity on the acquisition of leading community care business, INS Health Care. M&A Partners worked with Australian Unity to identify the INS Health Care acquisition opportunity in an extremely competitive market that received strong investment interest from private equity and overseas players.

Neta Industries is a heritage Australian brand with a 60 year history of providing quality garden watering accessories into the Australian retail market. The Neta brand of products has strong distribution Australia wide with over 1,000 customers stocking the Neta range of hoses, fittings and accessories.

M&A Partners acted as corporate advisor to Neta Industries on sale of business to Husqvarna AB. Husqvarna AB (OM:HUSQ B) has acquired Neta Industries Pty Ltd, a leading supplier of garden watering tools and accessories. Husqvarna’s acquisition of Neta will complement the company’s existing range of garden supplies which are marketed under the Gardena brand.

Modern Baking Group is one of Australia's largest biscuit manufacturers, having been in the market since the 1950’s.

M&A Partners acted for the shareholders of Modern Baking to identify a strategic investor for the business that could assist in the turnaround of the business and accelerate sales growth and NPD in the competitive Australian biscuit market. Saleslink successfully acquired a control position in Modern Baking with the backing of its largest investor, MH Carnegie.

Saleslink Australasia is a retail sales management company that conducts national account management, field merchandising and order management for supermarkets, pharmacy, hardware, auto and department stores. They also provide consumer research and insights that add value to their sales partners.

M&A Partners acted as corporate advisor to Icon Brands (owned by Saleslink) on the sale of its stake in Capilano. Icon Brands is an FMCG focussed, private investment company. Capilano (ASX:CZZ) is Australia's most well-known honey brand and market leader.

Assetic is a software provider that records, tracks, and predicts future infrastructure spending by government. Assetic allows owners to model and predict the impact this will have on future replacement costs and declining service levels. Assetic’s strategic asset management software, which counts local councils of Latrobe City, Victoria, Glenorchy City, Tasmania and Gosford, NSW as clients, will be expanded into private sector markets and other utility sectors like water and electricity.

M&A Partners acted as Sell Side advisor to Assetic. Mark Carnegie’s venture capital funds have spent more than $10 million snapping up a 55 per cent stake in Assetic.

Rivercorp Land & Water is the owner and manager of 250 hectares of early season apple orchards based in Nangwarry and Loxton in South Australia. Rivercorp was restructured from an MIS scheme and successfully raised capital to fund its growth.

M&A Partners acted as restructuring and Sell Side advisor to Rivercorp, which was owned by the Adelaide based MacLachlan family. Singapore-based Duxton Asset Management injected $12 million into Rivercorp Land and Water. The funds raised were used by Rivercorp to buyback existing shareholders and fund growth. Duxton, which focuses on alternative investments in agriculture and emerging markets, manages around US$620 million.

Pental (PTL) is one of Australia's largest manufacturers of home care and personal care products with leading brands including White King. Pental is Australia’s largest bar soap, firelighters and bleach manufacturer. Its core business is cleaning, being a leading supplier of retail products for personal care and home cleaning.

M&A Partners raised $19.3m of capital pursuant to a prospectus offering and negotiated $10.0m in debt forgiveness with Pental’s incumbent bank. This allowed Pental to avoid a Receivership and it continued to trade successfully in the market until its takeover by Dulux.

Silverton was part of the Leighton group which has undergone corporate changes and restructuring in recent years and is now known as CIMIC and is focussed on mining and infrastructure services.

M&A Partners was engaged by Silverton (the property development arm of Leighton Contractors) to assist Silverton (“Silverton”) in raising new bridging capital and to assist the business in completing settlement of its Keysborough property. M&A Partners successfully structured and raised the $5m bridging funding.

Established in 1984, Cardioscan is a cardio reporting services provider based in Melbourne. Positioned in the e-health sector, Cardioscan is the largest provider of ECG and Holter monitoring services in Australia. Clients include the major private hospital groups (Ramsay and Healthscope) and the major pathology groups. Cardioscan employs technicians and cardiologists to read and interpret the results from ECG’s and Holters and then send these electronically back to its clients.

M&A Partners acted as Sell Side advisor to Cardioscan in the sale of the business to Harbert Private Equity Group. Transaction Value was c.$13m and Harbert Private Equity Group acquired an 85% stake with the balance held by the vendor Mr Paul Kelly and management.

Established in 2006 by Australia’s leading sports journalist Craig Hutchison and ESPN Presenter James Swanwick, Crocmedia is Australia’s largest supplier of radio sports content reaching audiences over 60 markets throughout metro and regional Australia.

M&A Partners advised on the proposed acquisition of a target business.

ProTen is Australia’s largest producer of broiler chickens with over 60 million birds produced annually across 6 farms. Increasing demand for protein was driving the need for increased chicken meat production and development of additional facilities. ProTen had attractive long term contracts with Australia’s leading chicken processor which would facilitate company expansion.

M&A Partners raised $10m in equity via the issue of Convertible Preference Shares on a five year term with a guaranteed minimum IRR for investors.

KLM Group was an ASX listed service business and one of Australia’s foremost electrical and communications providers. KLM had a team of more than 800+ employees around Australia, delivering infrastructure needs across high level commissioning of total integrated electrical and communications solutions. KLM Group provide services to the Construction, Defence, Government, Financial, Commercial and Infrastructure markets.

M&A Partners acted as corporate adviser to KLM on a successful public takeover offer by Programmed Maintenance Services worth $28 Million.

Ausmelt is a leading international supplier of top submerged lance (TSL) smelting technology to producers of copper, lead, tin, nickel, platinum group metals (PGMs), zinc and ferrous metals around the world. TSL smelting technology is also used to reclaim metal values from various wastes, leaving behind an environmentally benign, compact solid. Twenty-four commercial Ausmelt furnaces have been installed in nine countries.

M&A Partners acted for Ausmelt as a corporate advisor on takeover offer by Outotec Oij $54 Million.