Catalyst Buyout Fund 2
Catalyst Buyout Fund 2 is managed by Sydney based Catalyst Investment Managers Pty Limited. Catalyst Investment Managers (www.catalystinvest.com.au) established in 1989 are one of the most experienced private equity firms in the Australasian market having completed 32 management buyouts (MBO's) in Australia and New Zealand, with a combined enterprise value of almost A$3 billion.
Catalyst invests in market leading businesses, with excellent management, robust cash flows and strong growth prospects. Catalyst has developed significant experience in investing in a wide range of industries in Australia and New Zealand including retail, services, building products, packaging and other industrial sectors. Furthermore Catalyst's current team have delivered top quartile returns across all of the previous funds in which they have been involved.
Well known examples of Catalyst's previous MBO's, include;
- Pacific Brands, acquired from Pacific Dunlop in 2001 for A$730 million, and subsequently listed on the ASX for A$1.725 billion in 2004.
Catalyst Buyout Fund 2 (which is the current team's fifth fund), has a total size of $438m and is focussed on investing into mid-market buyout opportunities of profitable, Australian & New Zealand businesses, with enterprise value of between $100 million and $500 million at investment.
Investments completed to date by Catalyst Buyout Fund 2 include Actrol Parts.
Actrol Parts. During March 2010, Catalyst Buyout Fund 2 acquired the Actrol Parts business from GSA Group.
Actrol is the second largest wholesaler and distributor of equipment, gas and parts to the refrigeration and air-conditioning in the Australian market for over 70 years and grew primarily through the acquisition of a number of smaller, independent, regional players.
Actrol has a national presence with 49 branches across Australia with its primary customers being refrigeration and air-conditioning contractors. The business has over 7,200 active customers with the majority of sales relating to either scheduled or emergency repairs.
Actrol has access to all of the major brands in the refrigeration and air-conditioning market and distributes over 6,000 different products per annum. Its product catalogue is generally regarded as being the industry "bible" and contains over 12,000 SKU's.