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Village Roadshow

April

Nick Langton, right, chief executive of Alta Group Global which has debuted on the NYSE.

Aussie MMA start-up quietly lists in the US after $9.9m raise

Manly-based Alta Group, which runs a mixed-martial-arts training platform, has debuted on the New York Stock Exchange after raising $US6.5 million.

  • Tess Bennett

November 2023

Clark Kirby: “It was great newspaper fodder at that time because we’re an entertainment company.”

‘It was great newspaper fodder’: Village Roadshow CEO on family bust-up

A family feud threatened to break their hold on the entertainment industry. But the Kirbys are staging an unlikely comeback, albeit with a smaller piece of their empire.

  • Primrose Riordan

September 2023

Village Roadshow operates cinemas and theme parks including Wet’n’Wild on the Gold Coast.

BGH Capital to preview debt markets in $600m Village Roadshow refi

The private equity firm is approaching its third anniversary as owner of the cinema and theme park business, a chunk of which was spent wiling away lockdowns.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

July 2023

Gary Weiss, pictured at Cromwell Property Group’s 2018 AGM, is no stranger to shareholder activism.

Gary Weiss, original asset stripper, defends Ardent

It’s said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Not that vintage corporate raider Gary Weiss is in any way pleased. 

  • Myriam Robin

October 2022

American Australian Association Dinner....... Heloise Waislitz and Fiona Geminder arrive  at American Australian dinner where Lindsay Fox and Jacques Nasser were honoured. 

Age News 

Pic taken by John Woudstra Feb. 8 2012 Rich list

Freehills, Deloitte, the Pratt family abandon Victorian Liberals

Victorian Liberals are being shunned by companies such as Freehillls, Deloitte and prominent Victorians, demoralising a party used to strong links to the elite.

  • Aaron Patrick
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March 2022

BGH Capital founding partner Ben Gray set up the firm with Simon Harle and Robin Bishop in 2017.

BGH Capital hits $3.6b hard cap for Fund II

Australian buyout firm BGH Capital has raised $3.6 billion for its second fund, BGH Capital Fund II. 

  • Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood

January 2022

Village Roadshow, like other tourism-focused businesses, has copped a battering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Village Roadshow owner loses $36m as lockdowns hit fun parks, cinemas

VRG Holdco group lost nearly $36 million in fiscal year 2021 as the operator of some of Australia’s most well-known theme parks and cinemas struggled with COVID-19 rules.

  • Miranda Ward

September 2021

Former News Corp executive Peter Tonagh: full roster

Peter Tonagh not the shy or retiring type

Three years after leaving Foxtel as part of its merger with Fox Sports, Peter Tonagh is a man in seriously high demand

  • Myriam Robin
Peter Ziegler’s financing work helped Village Roadshow’s movie expansion, including to The Matrix starring Keanu Reeves.

ATO ‘breached’ settlement deed, claims tax whiz Ziegler

Federal Court documents revealed today show a long-running dispute between Village Roadshow’s former finance expert and the ATO.

  • Liam Walsh and Neil Chenoweth

April 2021

Jamie Pherous says WA's closure to Queensland is "un-Australian".

‘The forgotten ones through this pandemic’: Jamie Pherous

The travel sector is warning that the Morrison and state governments must rapidly repair the vaccine rollout or it will hobble the post-pandemic recovery.

  • Lucas Baird and Liam Walsh
Alexander Stanowitsch with six of the fake paintings that were in the courtroom, and his lawyer David Leggatt. Pictured outside the Melbourne County Court.
Picture by Wayne Taylor 30th March 2021. AFR

He said, ‘You should invest, I’ll help you out’

When a friend suggested an art investment scheme that returned 20 per cent a year, it seemed an ideal opportunity. But seven years later the claims, like the art, have failed to deliver.

  • Gabriella Coslovich

December 2020

Dissenter missing as Court clears Village Roadshow takeover

New York-based fund manager Mittleman Brothers, which has opposed the deal for nearly 12 months, did not make an application to appear.

  • Updated
  • Max Mason
In happier times: John Kirby, left, and Robert Kirby at the Village Roadshow AGM in 1998.

Village Roadshow takeover marks the end of an era

Feuding John and Robert Kirby can act independently at last after Village Roadshow fell into the hands of private equity, largely because COVID-19 killed the cinema.

  • Tony Boyd
Village Roadshow is being sold to  BGH Capital.

Village family feud ends with BGH bid

BGH will pay $3 per share for the storied Village Roadshow, which owns and operates Warner Bros Movie World, Wet ‘n’ Wild, Sea World and a chain of Victoria cinemas.

  • Updated
  • Max Mason

Village is confident of sale to BGH Capital

A successful takeover will put an end to a chapter of the storied Village business, which has been run by the Kirby family for three generations.

  • Max Mason
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Nine

No more: BGH Capital 'best and final' at Village

Private equity firm BGH Capital bid against itself once at Village Roadshow and has no intention of doing it again. 

  • Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd
Nine

Village Roadshow ride awaits the final turn

If Mittleman Brothers wants to guarantee that BGH fails in its takeover bid for Village, it has to significantly step up its share acquisition before the end of the week.

  • Max Mason
Warner Bros Movie World could soon be owned by private equity.

Village vows to fight $11m ATO ruling and pending penalties

Village Roadshow's board does not believe the Australian Tax Office's audit can be supported by precedent.

  • Max Mason

November 2020

Village Roadshow, like other tourism-focused businesses, has copped a battering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Village Roadshow shares soar on sweetened offer

The offer secured the support of significant shareholder Spheria Asset Management, which had previously declared its intention to vote against the takeover.

  • Lucas Baird
Nine

BGH bumps Village Roadshow offer

BGH Capital has come to the party at Village Roadshow, in the face of stiff opposition from two renegade shareholders.

  • Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/company/vrl-1mi