Catalyst Says Bye Bye

A few months ago I wrote a post entitled Releasing The Captives and argued that few captive private equity firms are sustainable.

Sadly, Catalyst just became the latest piece of evidence to support my argument.  The AFR published a story this morning confirming that carry negotiations with Prudential/PPM Capital, Catalyst's parent company, have broken down and the senior team has walked out.  It's a sad event, because Catalyst is one of Australia's oldest private equity groups, an industry pioneer.

It's certainly not a surprise though.  Prudential has always taken a very hefty share of the team's profits.  In fact, Catalyst lost a talented senior exec (Justin Ryan) the last time they raised a new fund.  With a 75% IRR track record behind them, the guys must have finally decided "enough is enough."

So, the Australian Spin-out Hall of Fame now includes:

• Catalyst (TBA)
• GS Equity (Archer)
• Gresham Private Equity (Ironbridge)
• Macquarie Direct (Next Capital)
• Westpac (Quadrant Private Equity).

I'm predicting that JP Kaumeyer's team at ABN AMRO will be the next to go . . . .

Comments

[Alex Kaumeyer]

Are u kidding me buddy J.P. Kaumeyer and Abn Amro's Private equity sector is not going anywhere but up.

[Nicolla Kaumeyer]

I agree with Alex.

Let me first remind you of the date of this article- Feb 9th 06.

Need I say more?

Perhaps the author may wish to take a few tips from the individuals mentioned in this article and engage in a little research before participating in such a bold statement.

[Ha]

really?

recent development re ABN PE might seem otherwise.