How is Covid-19 impacting the private equity market in Australia? An executive search perspective.
Since April this year, most of the clients and executives that Allura Partners have been speaking to have been curious about how our private equity (PE) executive search offering has been tracking. Are executives still being appointed to lead PE portfolio companies? Are new deals being done?
In short, executives are still being appointed in existing portfolio companies where changes are required, and it appears that new deals will start to flow at the back half of 2020.
In July, our Managing Director Adrian Belle, completed two separate Chief Executive Officer (CEO) search processes. Both resulted in a delighted executive signing a new employment contract, excited about their challenge ahead and a Board equally excited about their new Chief Executive. One will lead a large established investment for a global PE firm and the other will replace a Founder of a high growth smaller investment recently acquired by a tier one Australian PE firm. Both processes have taken many months from start to finish; one engaged pre-Covid and the other just as NSW entered lockdown. This demonstrates that regardless of Covid-19, the demand for top talent to lead PE-backed investments is still high.
Regarding new deals there is no doubt, PE will see several distressed investment opportunities come to market. The other most likely PE deal to be done is the corporate carve out, as corporates focus on their core business and look to divest non-core assets. The other potential opportunity will be businesses that have not been impacted by Covid-19.
Last month, Allura Partners was briefed on three pending confidential new investments. A distressed asset that requires new leadership, a corporate carve out that will require an executive with a fresh approach and the final potential deal is a high growth founder led business in a category not impacted by Covid-19. Either way, these potential investments indicate that deals will be done and the need for top talent to lead new portfolio companies will drive demand.
Should you be an executive seeking a PE opportunity, please contact Allura Partners to discuss your background, skillset, experience, and attributes that might align to a current investment requiring change or a new deal that is about to be transacted.