Champ Private Equity to change name

CHAMP’s Joe Skrzynski in 2006. Picture: Alan Pryke

Champ Private Equity is changing its name to CPE Capital.

The Australian buyout fund, which recently sold Accolade Wines to The Carlyle Group for close to $1 billion, has been operating for 32 years.

It was founded in 1987 by industry pioneers Bill Ferris and Joe Skrzynski as Australian Mezzanine Investments.

It formed a joint venture in 2000 with Castle Harlan from New York to form Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners, later referred to as CHAMP Private Equity.

The earlier arrangements with Castle Harlan and CHAMP Ventures have ended and the business is now run by John Haddock.

CPE says net returns to investors on all exited deals have delivered a compound annual return of 21 per cent compared to the ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index return of 9.5 per cent annually over the same period.

Ten landmark investments over this time have averaged a six times return by turning about $410m of investors’ equity into about $2,520m of cash proceeds.