Our Experience

Engaged by Cyrus Capital Partners L.P. to provide acquisition due diligence, offer structuring advice and stakeholder engagement assistance as it considered acquiring Virgin Australia via a sale process conducted by Virgin Australia’s Administrators. Our analysis focused on key business drivers, forecast assumptions and cash flow requirements of the business post COVID-19. We also provided assistance in drafting Cyrus’ offer for the business and liaised with key stakeholders including government, aircraft lessors, airports and unions.

Engaged by Prcstnt Asset Management to provide financial, accounting and operational advice for its acquisition of McWilliam’s Wines Group. Our work included analysis of the turnaround strategy, funding requirements and restructuring options, critical material due diligence, advice on bid pricing and structuring, assessment of the creditors’ position and associated deal consequences. We worked with the company, the administrators and their advisors to reach a definitive binding position supported by creditors.

Acquisition due diligence on several businesses which supplied coal to EnergyAustralia’s NSW generation assets. Assistance included hands on integration planning and project management as a workstream lead working directly with the business. Our work resulted in the integration of several key workstreams up to six months ahead of schedule resulting in material cost savings.

McGrathNicol provided due diligence to AusNet Services on their acquisition of Geomatic Technologies a provider of mobile and special technology solutions to solve asset management challenges. Our scope included normalised earnings, profit and loss, balance sheet, and working capital, and also included advice around net debt position and input into the working capital completion account mechanism.

McMillan Shakespeare Limited engaged McGrathNicol to lead its acquisition due diligence in respect of its potential merger with Eclipx Group Limited (ECX). Against the backdrop of ECX’s unexpected disclosure of underperformance in certain business units, we were specifically chosen for our unique ‘hard edged’ investigative skills.

Acquisition advisory and due diligence for Fuchs Lubricants (Australasia) Pty Ltd regarding its acquisition of Nulon Products Australia (& NZ subsidiary). This acquisition provides Fuchs with a national footprint in the retail lubricants and coolants segment.

We were engaged by a fast-growing beverage business involved in the brewing, packaging and sale of Kombucha (a sugar free, fermented and effervescent tea) to provide independent valuation services. The valuation of 100% of the equity in the company was required to assist shareholders assess their strategic options.

We were engaged by HOYTS Group to provide independent valuation services to assist with goodwill impairment analysis for testing in line with China Securities Regulatory Commission guidelines.

Provided financial due diligence and advisory services to Eternal Best Industries Limited on the acquisition of Spendless Shoes, a 220+ store business. Our scope spanned the full transaction lifecycle including term sheet negotiation, financial due diligence, price negotiation, day 1 planning, the net asset adjustment mechanism and drafting aspects of the share sale agreement. Our analysis identified a number of material issues which were ultimately resolved via a material purchase price adjustment and/or protection in the share sale agreement.

Vendor due diligence and sell side assistance on behalf of WhistleOut, a consumer comparison platform focussed on mobile, broadband and pay TV services principally across Australia and the US. The business was successfully sold to Clear Link Technologies, a subsidiary of Sykes Enterprises (Nasdaq:SYKE).

Provided vendor due diligence services to Tribe Breweries on its successful minority stake sale to Advent Private Equity. The capital raised from the transaction was utilised to significantly expand Tribe's brewing capacity through the construction of a new brewery in Goulburn.

Acquisition due diligence for The Foundry, an investment firm founded by some of the former owners of Swisse Wellness. We assisted The Foundry with taking a minority stake in WelleCo, a plant based supplement business, founded by Andrea Horwood and Elle McPherson.

Vendor due diligence on Remedy Kombucha whose core business is the brewing, packaging and sale of kombucha. The vendor due diligence focused on the rapid historical and forecast growth of the business, including significant capex undertaken at a new brewing facility.

We performed a purchase price allocation valuation engagement in relation to Washington H. Soul Pattinson’s acquisition of Aquatic Achievers, a leading operator of five swim schools located in the Brisbane metropolitan area. The purchase price allocation was required for both tax and accounting purposes. The intangible assets valued as part of the engagement included the Aquatic Achievers’ brand, swim school curriculum and goodwill.

Financial due diligence with respect to Axle Equity Partners' acquisition of 50% of the Star Car Wash Café group, one of the largest car wash operators in Australia with c.90 sites. Our scope of work focussed on key aspects of Axel’s investment thesis including quality of earnings, scalability of operations and capital expenditure requirements.

Financial due diligence for Cabcharge on the acquisition of Yellow Cabs, the largest taxi fleet operator in Queensland. Our work involved an assessment of quality of earnings, net assets and working capital requirements having regard to changes in the target business brought about by the acquisition.

Due diligence on behalf of the Hunter Hall board in regards to the merger with Pengana Capital. The merger created a leading listed diversified funds management group with c.$3b in funds under management.

We assisted Mountain Goat Beer on its successful sale to Asahi. Our work included extensive strategic and governance assistance prior to the decision to sell. We ran the sales process which included preparation of an information memorandum and data room, coordination of due diligence, management Q&A and transaction documentation.

We were engaged to run the Project Management Office for UBS to assist with the strategic planning for its exit from its wealth management business in Australia. We were involved in managing the wind down and closure of this business and the off-boarding and transition of its clients and assets to Crestone.

Financial due diligence on behalf of Guardian Early Learning Group in respect of its acquisition of independent child care centres. Our approach involved working with Guardian management in assessing the forecast financial performance of proposed acquisitions, drawing on our understanding of industry drivers.

Due diligence assistance to Fairfax Media in relation to the c.$100m merger of Fairfax Radio with Macquarie Radio. Our work included vendor due diligence on Fairfax Radio, acquisition due diligence on Macquarie radio and assistance with the simultaneous carve out and sale of 96FM to APN for $78m.

We provided acquisition support for L Capital Asia's investment in RM Williams, a fully integrated manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer of apparel and one of Australia’s most iconic brands. We worked closely with our client in forming a view on normalised earnings and assisted in the negotiation process on the completion account mechanism. Our client successfully completed a minority investment in the business.

We assisted BHP with integrating the operations of HWE following its $705m acquisition. We devised and implemented a detailed integration process that was executed ahead of time and with minimal disruption to the core business.

Engaged to perform various business integration roles following TRUenergy’s acquisition of EnergyAustralia. We work alongside EnergyAustralia project teams, pinpointed and resolved issues and consistently identified value in cash time and efficiency savings.