Global private equity powerhouse CVC Capital Partners is seeking to re-land in Australian capital markets with a splash.
Brambles’ place as a fixture on the ASX boards is under threat, with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners close to making a bid.Street Talk can reveal CVC is assembling funding for a $20 billion-plus tilt at Australian pallets giant Brambles, while talks play out between the respective camps about what sort of price would secure the private equity firm due diligence.
CVC’s local spokesman could not be reached for comment on Sunday night. A spokeswoman for Brambles declined to comment. CVC’s Brett Sutton, hired to chair the local business, is understood to be heavily involved. The Australian dealmaker is no stranger to pallets businesses, having previously helped pan-Asian buyout firm Affinity Equity Partners make 4.2 times its money at Brambles’ smaller rival Loscam.
The group acquired its pallets business, CHEP, from the Australian government in 1958 and expanded globally in the decades after.