Sebastian Stevens
National Leader, Transaction Services
Are you an entrepreneurially spirited, ambitious mid-sized business looking for private equity or venture capital investment? Or are you an astute investor seeking high returns or a company with future growth potential? Private equity and venture capital can be a transformative and rewarding experience. BDO is a leading global adviser for private equity and venture capital deals - making us the specialist you need to assist you on the PE journey.
BDO offers end-to-end support throughout your private equity deal. From defining your aspirations through to deal completion and beyond, we’ll guide you on the journey, help you navigate challenges and avoid common mistakes. For companies seeking private equity, BDO provides advice and support at five core stages:
Private equity should always be considered as a funding option when making decisions on business opportunities and challenges facing your business. Learn if private equity is right for you.
For private equity firms and funds, BDO delivers a full range of services that includes buy-side advisory, transaction services and due diligence, fund audit and tax compliance, tax structuring and exit readiness.
Our wealth of knowledge and experience means we understand the motivations and personalities of PE firms, funds and investors. Are you ready to begin or continue your PE journey? Contact BDO’s team of private equity specialists for more information.
There are well over 50 private equity funds in Australia alone. Each fund looks to differentiate itself with various investment target sizes, strategy, culture and specialist areas of expertise.
There are also venture capital funds and other financial sponsorship models with differing approaches to risk and reward. But how can you determine if it’s the right choice for you? In the table below, we illustrate ‘the universe’ of available private equity investors in Australia.
PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTOR TYPE | INVESTOR DESCRIPTION | INVESTMENT STYLE |
Venture capital | Seed or early-stage often seek to sector specialise as investments are ordinarily pre-profitability or even revenue. | Minority investor, backing a management team and the development of valued Intellectual Property. |
Development capital | Later stage, growth investors. Includes regional governmental or pseudo-government agency investment. | Minority investors with certain key minority control rights. Passive investment style. |
Family office | Investment office of one or more High Net Worth individual(s) and associated family. Focus is on diversification and reinvestment of wealth into a range of asset classes, which frequently includes Private Equity-type investment. | Both active and passive investors via majority and minority stakes in multiple that are typically held for a longer period than other institutional investors. Often focused on investment in sectors and businesses familiar to the underlying family. |
Sector specialists | Focus on key growth sectors as core investment hypothesis. | Use of activist sector experts to drive strategy and target specific acquisition targets. |
Regional specialists | Regionally originated houses focused on specific geographies and regional industries. | Local industrial knowledge and connections. Leverage local networks and relationships. |
‘Middle-market’ specialists | An active core of houses seeking transactions with a broad range of Enterprise Values. | Focus on deploying target levels of investment capital per deal in attractive businesses. Will require control. |
Buy and build | A subset of the middle-market, focusing on the acquisition of core ‘platform investments’ upon which additional bolt-on acquisitions will follow. | Use of industry experts arbitraging combination synergies and knowledge of sectors. |
Operational / transformational specialists | Seeking to transform suboptimal or underperforming businesses, which will typically be acquired at lower valuations. | Use of operating partners to deliver transformational change, often including enhancement of management teams. |
International inbound | Overseas investors seeking acquisitions in Australia. | Seeking complementary investments or geographic foothold in the Australian business environment. |
Sebastian Stevens
Andrew McFarlane
Ann Stratikopoulos
Byron Watson
Daniella Biagi
David Fechner
Eleanor Moffat
Jake Knight
James Ainsworth
David Ward
Fady Abi Abdallah
Grant Pyne
Kelly Kennedy
Marcus Leonard
Martin Coyle
Nicholas Parry
Nick Fox
Nigel Batters
Sebastian Stevens
Silvio Colaluca
Steve May
Steven Kastanias
Tony Schiavello
Will Sinclair
James Momsen
Dong Su Kim