Street Talk

PE deal makers tipped to “get creative” in 2025 as exits mount

Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Dec 12, 2024 – 6.13pm

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Nimble and creative are the two characteristics that will define private equity sellers in 2025 as they hunt for unconventional ways to realise their swollen portfolios, says law firm Herbert Smith Freehills.

In an interview with Street Talk, partners Raji Azzam and Kam Jamshidi say that with the IPO market challenged and asset realisation crucial to fundraising efforts, they expect to see activity akin to Bain Capital’s partial sell-down at Virgin Australia and Chemist Warehouse’s backdoor listing into existing vehicle Sigma Healthcare feature prominently in the coming year.

Sarah Thompson has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones. Email Sarah at sarah.thompson@afr.com

Kanika Sood is a journalist based in Sydney who writes for the Street Talk column. Email Kanika at kanika.sood@afr.com.au

Emma Rapaport is a co-editor of the Street Talk column. Prior to that, she was a markets reporter at The Australian Financial Review. Connect with Emma on Twitter. Email Emma at emma.rapaport@afr.com