Private Equity

BDO is a leading adviser to Private Equity/Venture capitalists globally - making us the specialist you need to assist you on the PE journey.

Private Equity (PE) should always be considered as a funding option when making decisions on business opportunities and challenges facing your business. Whether it is the first time you have used PE or you are a PE veteran, it can be a transformative and rewarding experience. The challenge is to find the right type of investor or partner for your business - whether through PE or not - and the key individuals who will help you achieve positive results.

Private Equity in Australia today

There are well over fifty Private Equity funds in Australia alone. Each fund looks to differentiate itself with various investment target sizes, strategy, culture and specialist areas of expertise (such as a particular sector or type of company).

If that isn’t enough choice, there are also Venture Capital funds and a myriad of other financial sponsorship models with differing approaches to risk and reward.

But how can you determine if it’s the right choice for you? In the table below, we illustrate ‘the universe’ of available Private Equity investors in Australia.

PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTOR TYPE	INVESTOR DESCRIPTION	INVESTMENT STYLE
Venture capital	Seed or early-stage often seek to sector specialise as investments are ordinarily pre-profitability or even revenue.	Minority investor, backing a management team and the development of valued Intellectual Property.
Development capital	Later stage, growth investors. Includes regional governmental or pseudo-government agency investment.	Minority investors with certain key minority control rights. Passive investment style.
Family office	Investment office of one or more High Net Worth individual(s) and associated family. Focus is on diversification and reinvestment of wealth into a range of asset classes, which frequently includes Private Equity-type investment.	Both active and passive investors via majority and minority stakes in multiple that are typically held for a longer period than other institutional investors. Often focused on investment in sectors and businesses familiar to the underlying family.
Sector specialists	Focus on key growth sectors as core investment hypothesis.	Use of activist sector experts to drive strategy and target specific acquisition targets.
Regional specialists	Regionally originated houses focused on specific geographies and regional industries.	Local industrial knowledge and connections. Leverage local networks and relationships.
‘Middle-market’ specialists	An active core of houses seeking transactions with a broad range of Enterprise Values.	Focus on deploying target levels of investment capital per deal in attractive businesses. Will require control.
Buy and build	A subset of the middle-market, focusing on the acquisition of core ‘platform investments’ upon which additional bolt-on acquisitions will follow.	Use of industry experts arbitraging combination synergies and knowledge of sectors.
Operational / transformational specialists	Seeking to transform suboptimal or underperforming businesses, which will typically be acquired at lower valuations.	Use of operating partners to deliver transformational change, often including enhancement of management teams.
International inbound	Overseas investors seeking acquisitions in Australia.	Seeking complementary investments or geographic foothold in the Australian business environment.

BDO’s Private Equity services

BDO offers end-to-end support throughout your PE deal. From defining your aspirations through to deal completion and beyond, we’ll guide you on the journey, helping you navigate challenges and avoid common mistakes.

BDO provides advice and support at five core stages for businesses looking for private equity:

For private equity firms and funds, BDO delivers a full range of due diligence, tax, and advisory services to Private Equity (PE) firms, portfolio companies, funds, and investors. This includes:

Buy-side advisory
Transaction services and due diligence
Fund audit and tax compliance
Tax structuring
Exit readiness

Contact Us

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