09
Oct
Funding the deal: M&A financing in uncertain times
Traditionally, debt financing of acquisitions in Australia has been the domain of the banks, taking lead roles in relation to the arranging and underwriting of these facilities. However, institutional lenders and private credit funds have continued to gain significant market share in syndicated lending transactions and are now mainstream.
In the current climate of market uncertainty both banks and private credit investors are having to recalibrate their business-as-usual hypothesis. While lenders now provide a range of flexible debt instruments, financiers are also increasingly mindful of downside protection. Our panellists share their views on how to navigate the market.
- What are the innovative financing structures shaping the current market?
- Are lenders incorporating greater protections in loan docs?
- Is private credit more willing to wear the private equity hat when the situation demands?
- With fewer exits are loan extensions and dividend recapitalisations here to stay?
- Is the notion of banks competing with private credit a false narrative?
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SpeakersKelly Morton Founder Skye Capital Advisory
Stephen Allan Managing Director, Head of Australasian Private Credit Blackrock
Stephanie Dash Managing Director, Capital Markets APAC KKR
Peter Graf Partner & Head of Direct Lending Asia Ares Management
Gautam Rao Managing Director, Private Equity Financing - Institutional Banking & Markets Commonwealth Bank of Australia
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Kelly is the Founder of Skye Capital Advisory, she is one of the most progressive and respected senior debt advisory professionals in the Australasian market, having raised ~$100bn of debt capital in Australian and international markets.
Kelly is considered a market leader in developing funding solutions and providing financial advice to corporates and private equity firms, including specialist advice on business transformation strategies to effect change, drive profit and stimulate growth. Recent market leading transactions include Allegro funds acquisition of Toll, acquisition financing of Gull NZ, first social loan in Australia for APM employment services and the recent acquisition of retail zoo (boost/Betty’s burgers).
Mr Allan joined Blackrock in December 2023 as Head of Australasian Private Credit where he is responsible for sourcing and managing credit opportunities across Australia and New Zealand.
Prior to Blackrock he worked for Nomura where he was a Managing Director and Head of Australia and New Zealand Loans & Principal Investments which invests in corporate and real estate lending across the capital structure, loan portfolio acquisitions and distressed debt.
Stephen has an undergraduate degree from the University of Technology, Sydney and is a Chartered Accountant.
Stephanie joined KKR in 2018 and is a member of the KKR Capital Markets team. Prior to joining KKR, Ms. Dash was a member of the Credit Suisse leveraged finance origination & restructuring group in New York. Before that, she was part of Deutsche Bank’s leveraged debt capital markets group in Sydney. She received a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of New South Wales.
Mr. Graf is a Partner at Ares Management, where he is responsible for leading sponsor finance in Asia for Ares' Direct Lending business. Prior to joining Ares in 2021, Mr. Graf was Head of Leveraged Finance at Credit Suisse in Australia, where he focused on the origination, structuring and underwriting of leveraged finance transactions, as well as managing a large, diversified debt portfolio. Previously, Mr. Graf worked for Lazard, Deloitte and Bank of America in corporate finance roles. Mr. Graf holds a B.S. from Cornell University in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and an M.Eng. from Cornell University SC Johnson College of Business in Finance and Strategic Operations.
Gautam Rao is Managing Director, Private Equity Financing for Institutional Banking and Markets, a division of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Commonwealth Bank’s Private Equity Financing business is a leading player in the Australian and New Zealand markets providing debt financing to financial sponsors/private equity backed companies across all industries.
Gautam is responsible for originating and structuring debt financing solutions, typically in an episodic context. The financing solutions typically support clients involved in leveraged and/or management buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalisations, refinancings and IPO facilities. These financing solutions can be arranged or fully underwritten.
Gautam has over 20 years of banking experience across debt financing and M&A. Gautam joined the Commonwealth Bank in 2021 to lead Commonwealth Bank’s Private Equity business. Prior to his current role, Gautam was the Head of Leveraged Debt Capital Markets and Acquisition financing at Deutsche Bank Australia. Prior to that Gautam has held various financing advisory and execution roles at HSBC London and Barclays Sydney.
Gautam holds a Bachelor of Commerce (with Merit) from the University of New South Wales. He is also a Chartered Accountant and holds a Diploma of Applied Finance from FINSIA.