Sovereign funds in the spotlight
12/03/2008. In an environment of tightly constrained equity and debt markets, attention has swung to sovereign funds as a source of M&A deal flow, writes Robert Nicholson of Australian law firm Freehills.

Changed Dynamics
12/12/2007. Buy-out investors face formidable hurdles in Australia and New Zealand. To private equity investors, especially those in the buy-out segment that are vying for opportunities in both Australia and New Zealand, the market dynamics in these two countries have now changed, writes the Asia Private Equity Review. They are no longer favouring financial investors, even though their coffers are rich with cash.

Australia: Revised guidance note on lock-up devices
24/05/2005. The Takeovers Panel in Australia has issued a final version of Guidance Note 7 on lock-up devices, says Baker & McKenzie. Essentially, GN7 states that while lock-up devices are not inappropriate per se, the panel is concerned to ensure that transactions take place in an efficient, competitive and informed market.

Private equity confidence survey: Australia and New Zealand
04/05/2004. Positive sentiment about Australia's economic climate and a number of recent successful private equity exits should lay solid foundations for more private equity transactions in the region over the next six months, according to the latest Deloitte Private Equity Confidence Survey.

M&A review: Australasia
14/01/2004. For the 12-month period ending November 2003, 979 Australasian companies were the targets of $56.3bn worth of mergers and acquisitions transactions. This represents an increase in value of 53.9 per cent, compared to $36.6bn for the previous year, according to figures released by Dealogic.

Australia Venture Capital Association Yearbook 2002
23/09/2003. Australia's venture capital industry has proved resilient over the last few years and is now poised for continued growth, according to the Australian Venture Capital Association.

The VCLP legislation - A mild case of the hiccups?
17/09/2003. The Australian private equity industry has undergone a number of major changes in recent months. These legislative reforms have been designed to consolidate Australia's previously ‘ramshackle' limited partner structure, explains Baker & McKenzie.

Management buy-outs - a marriage of inconvenience?
07/05/2003. The management team is absolutely critical to the success or failure of a management buy-out, argues Andrew Rothery of GS Private Equity in this question-and-answer session. Rothery discusses the difficulties involved in evaluating the management team and the crucial factors needed for a management team to be successful in partnership with a private equity firm.

Australia reforms venture capital laws
23/04/2003. The Australian venture capital industry is attracting increasing interest from foreign investors and the trend looks set to gather pace as a series of new reforms come into play. Andrew Green of the Australian Venture Capital Association discusses what these reforms mean for the region's private equity industry.

Australian private equity confidence survey Q1 2003
16/04/2003. In the fourth quarter of 2002, Australian venture capitalists displayed a guarded optimism about the immediate future of the venture capital industry in the region. Q1 2003 shows that even this small amount of confidence has been tempered, according to Deloitte & Touche's Australian private equity confidence survey.

Australia private equity confidence survey Q4 2002
26/03/2003. Private equity players in Australia and New Zealand are showing signs of optimism – a rare glimmer of hope in the current global environment. Deloitte & Touche's private equity confidence survey for Australia and New Zealand assesses the sentiment of venture capitalists for the immediate future of the industry.

Venture Capital Update February 2003
12/03/2003. New rules from the Australian government aimed at reforming the tax treatment of investors into Australian venture capital funds may make it easier and more lucrative to gain exposure to the region. In an overview, Charles Mendel of Phillips Fox points out that the changes put the Australian venture capital industry on a par with the world's best practice.

Australian use of information technology and its contribution to growth
26/02/2003. The heady days of the information technology boom may well be behind us but its impact can still be felt. John Simon and Sharon Wardrop of the Reserve Bank of Australia discuss the sector in Australia and show how it has been a major contributor to the region's economic growth.

Return ticket
21/01/2003. The ‘tech wreck' in the US has opened the door for Australian companies to lure back expatriates disgruntled with their prospects in post-crash California. Todd Woody of australia.internet discusses how Australia can benefit from these experienced executives.

A super opportunity
20/12/2002. Pension fund managers in Australia have been as affected as those in the rest of the world by plunging stock markets. Rather than investing overseas, perhaps they should be looking a little closer to home, says Todd Woody of australia.internet.com.

Venture capital update
10/12/2002. The Australian federal government has been making efforts to make the tax regime more favourable to the venture capital industry in recent months, points out Charles Mendel of Phillips Fox. The government has outlined tax concessions for foreign investors into Australian venture capital funds.

The Australian venture capital industry - developments and trends
12/11/2002. Australia has enjoyed a greater exposure to private equity in the last few years and has developed into one of the stronger markets in the Asian region. This report by Axiss Australia, a government initiative, charts the rise of private equity in the country and the trends that have shaped it today.

Local/international allocations for Australian superannuation funds
05/11/2002. Australian private equity funds should be included in Australian pension fund allocations, argues Quay Partners in its fourth occasional research report. The long term prospects for Australian private equity funds are broadly similar to those for international funds, although there is a perceived lack of opportunity in the domestic market.

Australian private equity confidence survey - Q3 2002
29/10/2002. The Australian and New Zealand private equity community remain downbeat about the outlook for the operational environment over the next six months. But there is some cause for optimism. The volatility of the capital markets and global political tension may create an opportunity for private equity to dominate the funding of M&A activity. Deloitte & Touche's private equity confidence survey for Q3 2002 assesses the sentiments of venture capitalists for the coming six months.

The knowledge economy - where we are, and where to next?
23/10/2002. Encouraging the commercialisation of research and development projects remains an important challenge for today's national governments. Robin Batterham, chief scientist, Commonwealth of Australia, presents an overview of some of the issues in attracting venture capital to fund the most productive researchers going forward.

AVCAL Yearbook 2001
24/09/2002. Investments made by Australian venture capitalists increased by 169 per cent in 2001, the highest level on record in the history of the Australian industry, and a marked contrast to global investment patterns. Australian venture capitalists also went against the grain with their increased investment in internet companies. However the emphasis has shifted from seed and early-stage investment to expansion stage.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor New Zealand 2001
24/09/2002. New Zealand's levels of entrepreneurial activity outstrip even those of the US, according to this Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report by the New Zealand Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This provides an excellent platform for growth in the country's fledgling private equity industry.

Australian private equity confidence survey - Q2 2002
06/08/2002. The global private equity market has experienced rumblings of optimism over the last few months. Not so in the recent Australian private equity confidence survey conducted by Deloitte & Touche. It concludes that an air of uncertainty has crept into the Australian and New Zealand private equity industry.

BioForum
06/08/2002. The life sciences industry remains a long way from staging a full recovery, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers BioForum report for June 2002. Australia and the US have been particularly affected, even after positive second quarter figures suggested an upturn was imminent. The survey reveals that investors are extremely cautious given the decrease in FDA approvals and disappointing clinical trial results.

Venture capital outlook in New Zealand
22/07/2002. New Zealand's venture capital industry has grown rapidly in recent years from a low base. While 2001 was a grim year for the venture capital industry worldwide, as venture capitalists concentrated on shoring up existing investments with no hope of exiting in the short term through the IPO markets, the sector in New Zealand approached 2002 with some cause for optimism. Andrew Lewis and Shelley Cave of Simpson Grierson look at the opportunities in New Zealand.

Australian private equity confidence survey Q1 2002
04/06/2002. While the general feeling in the global VC industry is gloomy, Australia is managing to keep its head above the water and remain insulated from global trends. The Q1 Deloitte & Touche private equity confidence survey demonstrates that respondents are confident of riding out the storm.

Private equity trends and developments
27/05/2002. As a relatively young industry, the Australian private equity market has not suffered as greatly in the general global downturn in early-stage investment. The last financial year saw the second highest ever level of private equity investment both in number and value. Kon Mellos and Nick Wormald of Freehills look at the developments to date.

Private enterprise
21/05/2002. Private equity has been attracting increasing attention from investors such as pension funds. However, many remain unclear about the intricacies of the industry. In this paper by the Journal of the Securities Institute of Australia (JASSA) Peter O'Reilly and Jenny Diggle give an overview of the industry and how it has grown in Australia.

The resilience of Australia's VC industry
30/04/2002. Venture capitalists in Australia are often the subject of unjustified criticism. Entrepreneurs find them too wary of making investments while institutional investors are concerned that they are too risky. Worth Noting, a publication by L21, compares the Australian VC industry with that of the US and concludes that, contrary to popular opinion, the Australian VC industry is making great progress.

Mergers and acquisitions index
23/04/2002. Venture capital buyers are set to drive the Australian M&A market in 2002 in what will admittedly be a flat year overall. Ernst & Young's Mergers & Acquisitions Index explores the areas in which we are likely to see most activity over the months to come.

Venture capital's sleeping reform
16/04/2002. The Australian government's approach to the venture capital industry has generally been positive for investors. Despite the current difficult economic climate, the legal and regulatory structure of the industry bodes well for the future, argues Niki Scevak of australia.internet.com.

Australian venture capital - the state of play
03/04/2002. Australian venture capital remains strong as a result of the industry's cautious approach to investments in private companies in recent years. Most funds were not swayed by the euphoria on the public markets during the boom period of the late 1990s. Now that taxation reforms have been announced to attract more international capital, Andrew Green from AVCAL believes the Australian private equity sector will maintain, and perhaps even increase, its growth.

Private equity in Australia
20/03/2002. Australian private equity is increasingly attracting foreign investment, although it remains far behind both the US and the UK. Nick Abrahams and Tim Woodforde of Andersen Legal provide a general background to private equity in Australia, including the competitive landscape, fund structures currently available and the government's involvement in developing the industry.

Good news for Australian venture capital sector
11/03/2002. Venture capital continued to produce strong growth in 2000-2001, apparently unaffected by the beginning of the global downturn. These statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics note a 14 per cent increase in funding commitments from investors to $5.7bn to June 2001.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2001 - Australia
05/02/2002. In the year 2001, Australia remained one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world, according to this survey from Kevin Hindle and Susan Rushworth of Swinburne University of Technology. But despite this encouraging finding, Australia's venture capital industry remained small in comparison with other countries surveyed for this Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Australia ranked 16th – out of 24 - on venture capital investment as a percentage of GDP.

Australian M&A trends in 2001
09/01/2002. The year 2000 and the first half of 2001 were characterised by an increasing trend towards global consolidation. This resulted in unprecedented M&A activity in Australia. While Australian targets constitute just three per cent of the global M&A market, Australia is the seventh most active M&A market in the world.

Biotechnology investment opportunities in New Zealand
27/11/2001. New Zealand's biotech industry is thriving and its government is committed to accelerating the development of a knowledge-based economy. This article from Investment New Zealand offers an overview for investors who want to take advantage of the biotech investment opportunities that this region can offer.

Market introduction
13/11/2001. Australia's venture capital community is now well placed to support new ventures, explains Andrew Green of AVCAL. The industry is expected to continue its period of strong growth, following recent investor-friendly reforms to the tax policy.

AVCAL 2000 Yearbook
05/11/2001. Australian private equity investors broke new records in 2000, with venture capital firms shooting through the $A1bn mark in fundraising for the first time. AVCAL provides the key investment statistics for 2000, plus its entire yearbook – essential reading for anyone investing in the region.

Tax reforms for investors in Australian private equity funds
24/10/2001. Recent tax reforms could net an extra $A1bn for Australia's growing private equity industry. AVCAL explains why it believes the new regime will benefit overseas investors and takes a whistlestop tour around the current Australian market.

The future of Australian venture capital investment
17/10/2001. The Australian Venture Capital Association (AVCAL) has for some time been working with the Australian government to create an international competitive environment for investment in the Australian venture capital industry. These efforts intensified over the last 6 months and culminated in a detailed submission being made.

What is venture capital?
13/06/2001. The Australian venture capital industry may not be as developed as the US or Europe but interest and opportunities are growing. Industry Fund Services looks at why investors should consider the asset class and examines the best ways to participate in the industry.

Private equity update - August 2000
29/05/2001. The Baker & McKenzie update gives details of new private equity funds, amendments to capital gains tax legislation and recent transactions.

Private equity update - November 2000
29/05/2001. What's happening in the Australian private equity market? Baker & McKenzie's quarterly updates keep you informed of the latest developments.

Private Equity Update - May 2000
29/05/2001. The May 2000 update from Baker & McKenzie includes an analysis of the New Business Tax System Bills. Based on the Ralph Review, such reforms are part of a strategy to overhaul Australia's tax system.