Chanticleer

PEP finds a perfect private-equity target in ASX darling-turned-dog

No one in the market is surprised Australia’s biggest private equity firm would come knocking on the door of a company that has lost the trust of investors.

Jun 10, 2025 – 2.31pm

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It’s funny how life works. Late last month, news broke that Scott Didier, the managing director and talisman of ASX-listed building group Johns Lyng Group, had spent a staggering $140 million to buy one of Australia’s most popular pubs, The Beach Hotel in Byron Bay.

Two weeks later, Johns Lyng, in which Didier holds an 18 per cent stake, is in the sights of local private equity giant Pacific Equity Partners, in a deal that could value the business at just over $900 million.

James Thomson is senior Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. He was the Companies editor and editor of BRW Magazine.