Anchorage Capital Partners Explained

Anchorage Capital Partners
Type:Private
Area Served:Australia
New Zealand
South East Asia
Key People:Phil Cave (founder, executive chair)
Callan O'Brien (managing partner)
Simon Woodhouse (managing partner)
Industry:Finance
Founded:2007
Hq Location City:Sydney
Hq Location Country:Australia
Aum:~$400 million (2023 forecast)

Anchorage Capital Partners is an Australian private equity company with headquarters in Sydney.[1]

Company name

In 2015, the company lost a case in the Federal Court against a similarly named United States company, Anchorage Capital Group, which also does business in Australia. The Australians were the first to register their website and claimed that the Americans had infringed on their trademark. The judge accepted the Australians had not copied the name of the pre-existing American company when choosing a name of their own.[2]

Founders and management

Anchorage Capital Partners was founded in 2007 by Phil Cave, Daniel Wong and Michael Briggs.[2] [3] [4] Cave had worked with private equity firms in the 1980s on deals involving well-known Australian brands such as Victa and Sunbeam, and was an executive director of Macquarie Bank.[5] [6] Anchorage's managing partners are Callan O'Brien, who worked as a lawyer for Cave before joining the firm in 2014, and Simon Woodhouse.[6]

History

In 2008, Anchorage bought the Australian-owned canned fruit company Golden Circle and sold it about six months later to the H.J. Heinz Company in America.[4] In 2009, it bought the New Zealand master franchiser for Burger King, Antares Restaurant Group, which it sold in 2011 to the Blackstone Group.[4] [7] [8]

In 2012, the Dick Smith Electronics chain was bought for $20 million.[9] The chain was floated on the Australian Securities Exchange the following year with a market capitalisation of $520 million.[1] The float was described as the “greatest private equity heist of all time" by Forager Fund Management chief investment officer Steve Johnson. The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association told a Senate inquiry that the chain had been stripped of cash.[6] The company collapsed and the stores closed in 2016 but the brand name was sold to Kogan.com, which continued online sales.[10] [11] The company founder, Dick Smith, blamed Anchorage's greed for the chain going into receivership with the loss of more than 3,000 jobs.[12] However, Anchorage management told the Senate inquiry they had left Dick Smith Electronics in a good financial position.[13]

In 2014, irrigation company Total Eden was sold to Ruralco for $57 million.[14] Clothing and footwear retailer Brand Collective was bought from Pacific Brands the same year, and sold in 2021 to the LK Group, the holding company of Melbourne businessman Larry Kestelman.[15] [16]

In 2020, Scott's Refrigerated Logistics, which supplies trucks and warehouses to big supermarket chains in Australia, was bought for about $75 million from AP Eagers.[17] The same year, the rail freight company CF Asia Pacific was bought, and rebranded a year later as Rail First Asset Management.[18] In November 2020, a bid to merge Anchorage subsidiary SPL with Spotless Laundries was abandoned after the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission raised concerns about a lessening of competition for commercial laundry services in Australia.[19]

In 2021, financial software group GBST Holdings was acquired.[20]

In 2022, the David Jones department store chain was bought from Woolworths South Africa.[6] The selling price was reportedly about $100 million.[21] [22]

In 2023, turnaround plans for Scott's Refrigerated Logistics were hampered due to flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic.[23] The company went into receivership, 1,500 workers were laid off, and plans were made to sell Scott's 500 trucks.[17] Union officials blamed supermarket chain Aldi for refusing to sign a supply chain charter. A spike in fuel prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine also hurt profitability.[24]

Portfolio

As at March 2023, Anchorage's fourth fund was expected to be worth about $400 to $500 million. Previous funds were speculated to have fetched returns of more than 40 per cent.[1] The portfolio in 2023 consisted of David Jones, GBST, SPL, and New Zealand companies Access Community Health and Evolve Education Group.[25]

Notable former investments include Brand Collective, Burger King, Dick Smith, Golden Circle, RailFirst and Total Eden. Other investments have been in a diverse range of industries such as childcare, facilities management, manufacturing, scaffolding and solar energy.[26]

FundYear closedCapital
Anchorage Capital Partners Fund I2008[27] $200 million
Anchorage Capital Partners Fund II2013 $250 million[28]
Anchorage Capital Partners Fund III2017 $350 million[29]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Who Killed Dick Smith? 'Buyer beware' is the lesson from an Australian retailer's decline and fall. . Fickling . David . 5 January 2016 . Bloomberg . 14 June 2023 . registration.
  2. Web site: Phil Cave's investment bankers at Anchorage take name calling to a whole new level . Kruger . Colin . 14 September 2015 . Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 16 June 2023.
  3. Web site: Daniel Wong . Mergr . 16 June 2023.
  4. Web site: Anchorage Capital Partners Closes A$200 Million Fund . 31 March 2010 . Wayback Machine . Anchorage Capital Partners . https://web.archive.org/web/20150227151640/http://www.anchoragecapital.com.au/news/2014/7/21/anchorage-capital-partners-closes-a200-million-fund . 17 June 2023. 27 February 2015 .
  5. Web site: Phillip Cave AM, Executive Chair . Anchorage Capital Partners . 15 June 2023.
  6. Web site: Inside Anchorage Capital Partners, the very private PE deal makers . Weinman . Aaron . 12 March 2023 . The Australian Financial Review. Nine Entertainment. 14 June 2023 . subscription.
  7. Web site: Private equity buys Burger King NZ . Keown . Jenny . 16 September 2009 . Wayback Machine . Stuff.co.nz . https://web.archive.org/web/20230619153457/https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/2869486/Private-equity-buys-Burger-King-NZ . 19 June 2023. 19 June 2023 .
  8. Web site: Blackstone pays tasty $108m for Burger King . Gibson . Anne . 30 November 2011 . Wayback Machine . New Zealand Herald. https://web.archive.org/web/20220318230541/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/blackstone-pays-tasty-108m-for-burger-king/ZDLG3DMJ4LUQ47NB2OGO53JMBE/ . 19 June 2023. 18 March 2022 .
  9. Web site: Woolworths sells Dick Smith to private equity . Janda . Michael . 27 September 2012 . ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 14 June 2023.
  10. Web site: Online retailer Kogan to keep Dick Smith brand alive . 15 March 2016 . Channel 9 Finance . Nine Entertainment. https://web.archive.org/web/20160317002315/http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/9096646/online-retailer-kogan-to-keep-dick-smith-brand-alive . 14 June 2023. 17 March 2016 .
  11. Web site: Ruslan Kogan rescues Dick Smith . Chung . Frank . 15 March 2016 . The Daily Telegraph. 14 June 2023.
  12. Web site: Dick Smith blames company's previous private equity owners' 'greed' for collapse; employees wait to hear fate . 6 January 2016 . ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 14 June 2023.
  13. Web site: Dick Smith collapse: Anchorage distances itself in Senate submission . Low . Catie . 8 April 2016 . Sydney Morning Herald . Fairfax Media. 19 June 2023.
  14. Web site: Ruralco to acquire Total Eden . 13 February 2014 . Wayback Machine . Business Spectator (News Limited) . https://web.archive.org/web/20220318220419/https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/business-spectator/news-story/47fc105d019a89546ab3bea405d44ec4 . 20 June 2023. 18 March 2022 .
  15. Web site: Larry Kestelman's LK Group snaps up Shoes & Sox owner . Mitchell . Sue . 21 July 2021 . Australian Financial Review . Nine Entertainment. subscription . 21 June 2023.
  16. Web site: Brand Collective + Shoes & Sox . Anchorage Capital Partners . 21 June 2023.
  17. Web site: 1500 jobs lost as huge logistics firm collapses . 3 March 2023 . news.com.au . News Corp Australia . 14 June 2023.
  18. Web site: Anchorage Capital Partners Acquires CF Asia Pacific . 6 January 2020 . Anchorage Capital Partners . https://web.archive.org/web/20210305092156/http://www.anchoragecapital.com.au/news/2020/01/06/anchorage-capital-partners-acquires-cf-asia-pacifi . 14 June 2023. 5 March 2021 .
  19. Web site: South Pacific Laundry - Spotless Laundries . 4 November 2020 . Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. 15 June 2023.
  20. Web site: Anchorage PE swoops on wealth management software biz GBST . Thompson . Sarah . Macdonald . Anthony . 22 December 2021 . Australian Financial Review . Nine Entertainment. 15 June 2023 . subscription.
  21. Web site: David Jones records major downturn amid RBA hikes . Rolf . Brooke e . 13 June 2023 . news.com.au . News Corp Australia . 14 June 2023.
  22. Web site: David Jones sold for $100m, bought for $2.1b in 2014 . LaFrenz . Carrie . 20 December 2022 . Australian Financial Review . Nine Entertainment. 14 June 2023 . subscription.
  23. Web site: KordaMentha takes the keys at Anchorage's Scott's Refrigerated . Macdonald . Anthony . Thompson . Sarah . Sood . Kanika . 27 February 2023 . Australian Financial Review . Nine Entertainment. 14 June 2023 . subscription.
  24. Web site: 'Stop the slaughter': Aldi slammed by TWU after collapse of Scott's . Schneider . Kate . 7 March 2023 . . News Corp Australia . 14 June 2023.
  25. Web site: Current Portfolio . 2023 . Anchorage Capital Partners . 14 June 2023.
  26. Web site: Exited Companies . 2023 . Anchorage Capital Partners . 14 June 2023.
  27. Web site: PE firm Anchorage Capital adds partner, flags new fund . Macdonald . Anthony . Thompson . Sarah . Sood . Kanika . 8 February 2022 . Australian Financial Review . Nine Entertainment. subscription . 19 June 2023.
  28. Web site: Anchorage Capital Partners Closes Fund II . 5 April 2013 . Wayback Machine . Anchorage Capital Partners . https://web.archive.org/web/20150227151607/http://www.anchoragecapital.com.au/news/2014/7/18/anchorage-capital-closes-fund-ii . 17 June 2023 . 27 February 2015 . live .
  29. Web site: Anchorage Capital Partners announces closing of $350 million for its third fund . 30 November 2017 . Wayback Machine . Anchorage Capital Partners . https://web.archive.org/web/20180312230303/http://www.anchoragecapital.com.au/news/2017/11/30/anchorage-capital-partners-announces-closing-of-a350-million-for-its-third-fund . 17 June 2023 . 12 March 2018 . live .

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