Pepper IPO hope gets shake-up

Macquarie Capital is believed to be lined up for a role working on a potential float of lender Pepper Australia.

The prospects of Pepper Australia reviving attempts for an initial public offering in the new year appear to be stronger following Liberty Financial’s impressive debut on the Australian Securities Exchange on Tuesday.

Liberty shares closed up 17 per cent on its first day of trade, and the thinking has always been that its initial public offering would be closely followed by Pepper Australia if it proved to be successful.

Investment bank Macquarie Capital is believed to already be lined up for a role working on a potential float of the Kohlberg Kravis Roberts-owned lender Pepper Australia, say sources.

When Pepper was planning to list last year, Macquarie was working on the IPO with investment bank Citi, while Credit Suisse lost its mandate after it was hired by its non-bank lending rival Liberty for a float.

Last year, Pepper Australia was expected to be worth about $700m.