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ABN Amro Capital launches A$300m Australian buy-out fund

ABN Amro has announced the launch of a A$300m buy-out fund targeting investment opportunities in Australia and New Zealand. ABN Amro will provide a corner stone investment for the fund, equal to 40 per cent of the total amount raised.

'This is an important step in the bank's strategy to convert ABN Amro Capital into a semi-independent business, managing increasing amounts of third party capital as well as meaningful amounts of capital provided by the bank,' said Gerben Kuyper, chief executive of ABN Amro Capital. 'Third party investors will be invited to invest in the fund alongside the bank, to share in the successful expansion of the Australian private equity activities of ABN Amro Capital.'

The new fund will make controlling investments of between A$15m and A$100m into businesses with an enterprise value of A$50m to A$750m.

JP Kaumeyer, managing director of the new fund, said that the launch of the fund reflected the continued growth of private equity opportunities in the region. 'The buy-out market in Australia and New Zealand has been buoyed by historically low interest rates and favourable economic conditions,' he said.

ABN Amro Capital has been active in private equity in Australia and New Zealand since 2000. It has invested A$180m into businesses as diverse as AUSDOC Information Management, Freightways Holdings and Transonic Travel.

ABN Amro Capital is a global private equity business with teams operating in 11 countries world-wide including The Netherlands, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Australia and Brazil. The firm specialises in mid-market buy-outs, expansion capital and public-to-private deals. It currently manages a portfolio of approximately E3bn, invested in 160 companies.

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