In the face of global geopolitical and economic volatility, New Zealand continues to have a steady appetite for M&A activity. With fund-raising activity reaching a new milestone in 2016, New Zealand and Australian private equity is cashed up, and interest from Chinese investors continues to grow. Are you positioned to realise the opportunities?
• What factors are fuelling investment and market activity?
• To what extent is global uncertainty likely to impact NZ’s M&A landscape?
• Assessing current market activity, pricing of deals and influencing factors
• Current approach to debt placement and debt pricing
• When should your business hunt for capital? And what motivates investors, what are they looking for?
• Accessing high quality asset opportunities in a competitive market
• What challenges and risks continue to be seen in the NZ M&A market?
Speakers
Matt Riley
Director, Waterman Capital
Matt Riley founded Waterman Capital with fellow director Chris Marshall in 2004. He has worked in the New Zealand private equity industry for almost 20 years. Matt is a former director of various Waterman portfolio companies including Academic Colleges Group, Guthrie Bowron, David Reid Homes and Express Logistics Group. He is also Chairman of the NZ Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.
Grant Houghton
Director, Leveraged & Acquisition Finance
Grant is a Director in ANZ’s Leverage & Acquisition Finance (LAF) team based in Auckland. Grant is responsible for deal origination and execution within LAF with a primary focus on offshore Sponsors. He has worked on and led numerous transactions in the structured/sub investment grade space including LBOs, acquisitions, restructurings, divestments and recapitalisation across the various Institutional Banking segments.
Grant has over 12 years of banking experience, two of which have been structured/sub-investment grade space and, is currently a New Zealand Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (NZVCA) council member. Prior to joining ANZ, Grant held numerous analytical and relationship based roles at Westpac Institutional Bank.
Murray Schnuriger
Partner, PwC Auckland
Murray is a PwC Partner and leads the PwC NZ Deals team. He has advised on M&A transactions for the past 20 years.
Murray has a primary focus on M&A lead advisory, in particular private company sell-sides as well as corporate and private equity buy-sides. He also has extensive experience in valuations, M&A growth strategy advice, distressed M&A and corporate refinancing structuring advice.
Murray has been lead M&A Advisor on deals over a wide variety of industries. Some recent examples include:
Advising E-Co Products Ltd (known as HRV) in its sale to Vector.
Advisor to Japan Pulp & Paper on its acquisition of 50% of the merged business of BJ Ball and Doggetts Australia.
Advisor to the shareholders of Red Seal Natural Health Ltd in its $80m sale to EBOS Group.
Advisor to Shanghai Maling in its 50% investment into meat processor, Silver Fern Farms.
Advisor to IAG NZ Limited on its divestment of Runacres & Associates Ltd to AUB Group NZ Ltd.
Advisor to the shareholders of NW Group Australasia Pty Ltd in its divestment to The Growth Fund.