Pacific Brands is Australasia’s leading manager and wholesaler of apparel and home and sporting consumer brands including Berlei, Bonds, Clarks, Dunlop, Everlast, Grosby, Holeproof, Hush Puppies, King Gee, Slazenger, Sleepmaker and Tontine. Pacific Brands has substantial scale with sales of A$1.5 billion and 7,000 employees, and was the second largest MBO completed in Australia at the time of completion.
- Following acquisition, a new Chairman was appointed to assist in the transition from a corporate division to an independent company.
- The portfolio of businesses was refined through the disposal of the fibres division and the acquisition of the branded Sachi and Kolotex businesses.
- Advertising and marketing expenditure was substantially boosted, rising from A$32 million in 2001 (year of acquisition) to A$73 million in 2004.
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- Focus on the balance sheet and capital management was increased,
extracting approximately A$100 million from working capital.
- The transaction was refinanced after 18 months to replace the
acquisition financing with a more flexible debt package, returning a
significant portion of the shareholders’ initial investment.
- EBITDA grew by over 30 percent during Catalyst’s investment and the market perception of the business was altered by an increased focus on the quality of its brands.
- Pacific Brands was listed in 2004 for an enterprise value of A$1.7 billion achieving a complete realisation for the private equity investors.
- The exit remains the largest Australian IPO of a private equity owned business.
- The deal won various awards including AVCAL Management Buyout Deal of the Year and CFO Magazine IPO of the Year in 2004.
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