Talk:Pacific Equity Partners

COI edit request

• Dear editors: - In the course of suggesting improvements to this article, I have been over several months discussing changes with editors both on this Talk page (including recently with MatthewDalhousie), and on the Talk pages of other editors. I've condensed much of the feedback I have received in this edit request, a course of action suggested by 331dot after leaving the draft in my sandbox for feedback for some time. Please let me know what you think of the proposed content - I would be glad to refine and resubmit.

@LizziePEP(New), these suggestions look okay and am happy to move this along. All the citations look pretty solid, except for the one used for "Current Investments" which points to a document from the subject being discussed, whereas we really would want to see a secondary source. Anything you can point to? (Also, we wouldn't say "current", we'd have it located to a date, such as "Investments as of January 2024."MatthewDalhousie (talk) 02:55, 21 February 2024 (UTC)

Also, the opening sentence needs to have simple explainer of what the entity is: Pacific Equity Partners is a private equity investment firm. (Or something like that.) MatthewDalhousie (talk) 03:32, 21 February 2024 (UTC)

Thanks again Matthew, the first two paragraphs of the article would remain unchanged, so the first sentence would remain "Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) is a private equity investment firm" LizziePEP(New) (talk) 23:51, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

Dear MatthewDalhousie, thanks for your response! Good point regarding Investments as of January 2024 - that should definitely be the table heading. Unfortunately, without going off the company website, we would have to find separate articles (probably from the AFR) for each investment… there may not be a source for each one. My thought was that the website source may be acceptable as it is only a list (therefore no room for qualitative input!). I can go back see what article sources I can find. LizziePEP(New) (talk) 23:50, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

I'm afraid that's the only way to do it. If you can provide AFR articles to support each category, then I think you have a way forward. MatthewDalhousie (talk) 00:41, 23 February 2024 (UTC)

Looks like those citations are in hand. MatthewDalhousie (talk) 07:34, 23 February 2024 (UTC)

• Why it should be changed: To update a page that hasn't seen substantial changes in some years. See below for changes:

Changes to introductory section: Following making it the largest private equity firm in Australia...

Addition: In 2023, the firm announced its PEP Gateway fund, marketed as a way for individual investors to gain exposure to global private equity investing. Initial investment requirements are reduced, and capital is distributed into PEP funds alongside funds from high-end global private equity firms such as Bain Capital and Leonard Green & Partners.

The firm will likely launch its seventh buyout fund (Fund VII) in 2024, with current investment expectations of A$3 billion, which would make it one of the largest Australian funds of its kind.

History & Culture

Pacific Equity Partners was founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1998.[25] The founders came from the consulting and banking sectors: Rickard Gardell, Tim Sims, Simon Pillar all from Bain & Company; and Paul McCullagh, from Salomon Brothers.[26] While McCullagh stepped back from management operations in 2017, as of 2023 all four had remained in the partnership.[26] - existing content.

Additions - PEP have been noted to cultivate an 'apprenticeship' culture, with long-standing founders and senior staff preferring to hire younger staff more receptive to cultural formation within the firm over a long tenure. Staff longevity and team-based approaches to deals, likened to a management consulting ethos, have been identified as key drivers of its success in the Australian market.

New Section - Investment Schedule

Current Investments

Business Name	Fund	Year Acquired	Transaction Type
Zenith Energy	SAF I	2020	Public to Private
Magentus	Fund VI	2020	Public to Private
Modern Star	Fund VI	2020	Secondary
Healthe Care	Fund VI	2021	Corporate Carve-out
Agright	SAF I	2022	Private Vendor
Intellihub	Smart Metering Fund	2022	Secondary
Cranky Health	Fund VI	2022	Private Vendor
Altus Traffic	Fund VI	2022	Private Vendor
iNova Pharmaceuticals	Fund VI	2022	Corporate Multinational Carve-Out
UP Education	Education SPV	2023	Secondary

LizziePEP(New) (talk) 06:28, 20 February 2024 (UTC)

@LizziePEP(New)to make things simple for me, and to keep some wiki conventions that readers and editors seem to appreciate, I'm going to suggest that the investment table has some similarities to tables used on articles in this category, such as Blackstone Inc and KKR. That way readers can easily move between said articles and absorb the relevant information. Hope that's okay. I further suggest that we have two tables. One that is current as of 2024. A second that shows previous non-current investments.

Not sure what "Fund" means exactly - perhaps you can clear up. Do you mean which fund has the stake in said investment? Do set out when you have time. MatthewDalhousie (talk) 01:29, 23 February 2024 (UTC)

Dear Matthew, thanks for this response, and apologies for the delay in getting back to you! Thank you for restructuring the tables and implementing those changes - they look really good. I would be happy to construct a second table for non-current investments and clear up your question about funds: the fund information refers to the pool of investments (of which private equity firms usually have multiple) that a particular investment is situated in. Funds start out as a pool of money sourced from investors, and may have a theme (health, infrastructure, etc) or special purpose (environmental benefit, education, etc) or may just be named sequentially. LizziePEP(New) (talk) 06:19, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for the explanation. I ask because I couldn't see anything definitive on what the 2024 number for funds under management actually is. Can you point me to a good secondary source.

If you're happy to do the work on the "Previous investments" table, that would be excellent. MatthewDalhousie (talk) 22:59, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

Hi MatthewDalhousie, please see below in new topic for a draft Previous Investments table. Apologies if the formatting of this discussion page has become a little rogue. A good secondary source for the most recent (2023) quote for funds under management (which sits at $9bn) can be found here. Thank you for all of your help in this process. LizziePEP(New) (talk) 06:20, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Nicely done. Very clear. Article much improved. MatthewDalhousie (talk) 07:06, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Hi @MatthewDalhousie:, thank you for your last round of edits. I had one further addition to suggest, to be input after the fourth paragraph of the article. This discusses one of PEP's products, which is a private credit fund. I also note there are some inconsistencies in how figures are represented. Might you or I be able to standardise them - $X billion or $Y million? At the moment, numbers are formatted differently. Thanks so much, let me know what you think of the addition below.

PEP also launched Capital Solutions, an open-ended private credit investment fund, in 2021 . The fund aims to offer strategic, senior secured credit solutions to Australian and New Zealand businesses . The strategy likely targets low-mid size businesses, where the PEP investment team believes they can help shape strategic direction of the portfolio company . LizziePEP(New) (talk) 06:27, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

@LizziePEP(New) Sounds okay. Will need to follow the Wikipedia Manual of Style on this one. So first mention of amount in local currency should be A$10 billion, then the subsequent amounts (given that only Australian dollars are used) would be $3bn etc. If I'm following the MoS correctly, we would revert to million/M, from there, so, for example $150M (not $0.15bn). Thoughts? MatthewDalhousie (talk) 07:05, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Hi @MatthewDalhousie,

Formatting as you have suggested here seems appropriate! Would you be happy to implement it? I can otherwise - it should be fine to do so as it is a minor edit. Let me know if you have any thoughts on that addition regarding the PEP credit fund (above). Thanks LizziePEP(New) (talk) 06:10, 2 April 2024 (UTC)

Yep, I see no problem with that, go for it. MatthewDalhousie (talk) 23:44, 2 April 2024 (UTC)

Thank you very much for your help @MatthewDalhousie. I've made those minor edits. Let me know if you had any thoughts on that proposed addition above. Would be glad to hear feedback. Many thanks LizziePEP(New) (talk) 07:10, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

The numeric updates seem fine, @LizziePEP(New). With regards the Capital Solutions material, I honestly think that needs a little more context, and deserves its own section. I take it that the company has five "strategies", which are products of a kind, and that Capital Solutions is one of those strategies? If so, this could be neat table in its own section, which could live under past investments. Make sense to you?MatthewDalhousie (talk) 00:00, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

Also, is it true to say the company has a product, or strategy, that it has now closed off, or retired? Then the section would need to make that clear too. MatthewDalhousie (talk) 00:01, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

Hi @MatthewDalhousie, I hope you are well. Thank you for your comments, I am in the process of outlining the five strategies in a more fulsome manner and will get back to you on this wording soon. Regarding your question about a product/strategy, in our context, these are never closed off or retired but there are series/funds within each strategy that can be closed. LizziePEP(New) (talk) 07:10, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

Hi @MatthewDalhousie, thank you for your patience. Please see below text on the five investment strategies at PEP. I would recommend inserting this just under the investments heading. Please let me know what you think.

1. Private Equity - traditional flagship buyout fund.
2. Secure Assets - spun out of private equity fund, focusing on infrastructure-like companies with protected cashflows.
3. Capital Solutions - a private debt strategy, sold with management input, plus senior secured loans.
4. Single Assets - trophy single assets from comingled fund put into its own continuation vehicle.
5. PEP Gateway - a portfolio of premium global private equity funds with a lower initial investment requirement.

LizziePEP(New) (talk) 04:55, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

This looks substantial, good sources too. Happy to implement. Thanks for the careful thought. MatthewDalhousie (talk) 05:02, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

@LizziePEP(New) just about items 2 and 4. There's nothing wrong with AVCJ, it's not what wiki calls a deprecated source or anything, but it's certainly not as substantial as the AFR or South China Morning Post. Do you think you could see if there are any better sources around? MatthewDalhousie (talk) 05:08, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Thanks @MatthewDalhousie, the source linked to this comment makes reference to the Single Assets strategy (item 4) [1]. Although the mention in the source is brief, it's an AFR article, which I agree is stronger than the AVCJ. In regards item 2, that already has an AFR source. Let me know if it is unsuitable for one reason or another. Many thanks LizziePEP(New) (talk) 06:16, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Yes, following you now.

So, do you have an alternative to the AVCJ source for "Single Assets"? MatthewDalhousie (talk) 06:34, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Hi @MatthewDalhousie, my apologies for the confusion. The link I provided in my last comment was for "4. Single Assets". I have also linked it here. This is instead of the AVCJ source. Separately, please let me know if the current AFR source for "2. Secure Assets" is okay - the correct link is here ? Thanks again LizziePEP(New) (talk) 06:47, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Dear @MatthewDalhousie, again, thank you very much for your help here. I've made some minor edits to the new section (a few typos, and product 1 had some funds in the wrong order). The page to me looks orderly and up-to-date. Thanks again LizziePEP(New) (talk) 05:12, 10 May 2024 (UTC)

References

LizziePEP(New) (talk) 06:28, 20 February 2024 (UTC)

Previous investments table

Previous Investments

Investments	Year Acquired	Description of Transaction	Ref.
Hoyts	2007	Purchase valued Hoyts' Australian and New Zealand operations at $440 million, then on-sold to Wanda Cinemas in 2015.
Independent Liquor	2006	Purchased in partnership with Unitas Capital for $600 million, later sold to Asahi Breweries for $1.3 billion.
Griffin's Foods	2006	Acquired from Danone in 2006 and sold to Universal Robina in 2014.
Frucor	1998	The first investment made by the firm. Purchased for $NZ67 million, later sold to Suntory in 2008.
Peters Ice Cream	2012	Terms of the deal not disclosed. Sold to Froneri in 2014 for just under $450 million.
Tegel Foods	2005	Acquired from Heinz for $250 million, later sold to Affinity Equity Partners in 2011 for $600 million.
WINconnect	2019	Purchase of community energy network provider for deal understood to be worth around $100 million. Purchased by Origin Energy in 2021.
Manuka Health	2015	Sold in 2018 for $NZ300 million. PEP first purchased Manuka in 2015 and made key changes including expanding the company's operations and leading an industry reform to standardise honey grades, allowing better transparency on quality and reducing counterfeiting. This work gained industry recognition in 2018 for quality management and responsible investing.
Allied Pinnacle	2015-17	Acquired Pinnacle Bakery & Integrated Solutions ($200 million), a maker of bakery ingredients and frozen baked products, from Kerry Group in 2015, before adding Allied Mills ($455 million, including debt) in March 2017. Sold to Japan's Nissin Foods in February 2019.
ACG	2015	NZ private education provider. Divested in 2018 to UK-based Inspired Education Holdings.

LizziePEP(New) (talk) 06:15, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Anything further

There was a lot of stuff on this talk page with requests and whatnot. I think I have all of the salient material now. Please add further suggestions here. MatthewDalhousie (talk) 10:50, 15 May 2024 (UTC)