Date: June 18, 2006
Source: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Acquisition is KKR's First Investment in Australia
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. ("KKR") today announced that an affiliate of KKR has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Australian businesses of Cleanaway and Brambles Industrial Services ("BIS") from Brambles Industries (LSE: BI; ASX: BIL) in a transaction valued at approximately A$1.83 billion (US$1.35 billion). The acquisition is KKR's first investment in Australia and represents the largest management buy-out ever in that market.
Cleanaway is Australia's leading waste management operator, serving over 65,000 commercial customers and 87 municipalities across the country. The company provides a broad range of services including collection, materials recovery, recycling and disposal. Cleanaway employs approximately 2,000 people in Australia.
BIS is the leading outsourced supplier of on-site and off-site materials handling and logistics services to the minerals, metals, and coal mining sectors, with operations in all states of Australia. BIS' on-site activities include the management of non-core customer processes and materials handling, and its logistics business serves the oil and gas, cement, mineral sands, salt, mining and food and beverage industries. BIS employs more than 1,200 people in Australia.
Following completion of the transaction, Chris Berkefeld, Managing Director of Cleanaway and BIS in Australia, and the existing management teams, will continue to lead the respective businesses.
Joseph Bae, Managing Partner of KKR Asia, said, "We are very excited to be partnered with Chris and his management team. Both Cleanaway and BIS are clear market-leaders in Australia, with a tremendous record of delivering superior levels of service to their customers in terms of value, safety and innovation."
Justin Reizes, a Director of KKR, added, "We are committed to working with management to continue to invest in Cleanaway and BIS to take full advantage of the many growth opportunities available to the company. These are world class businesses that we hope to take to the next level."
Chris Berkefeld, Managing Director of the Cleanaway and BIS businesses in Australia, said, "This transaction is an extremely positive development for all our employees, customers and stakeholders in Australia. KKR is the world's premier private equity investment firm, with a proven track record of working with companies to maximize their long term potential."
O'Sullivan Pullini acted as the exclusive financial advisors to KKR on the transaction; Gilbert + Tobin and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel.
About KKR:
KKR is one of the world's oldest and most experienced private equity firms specializing in management buyouts, with offices in New York, Menlo Park, California, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Over the past thirty years, KKR has invested in more than 141 transactions with a total value of US$195 billion.
The Brambles transaction is KKR's third major investment in Asia over the past year, including the US$2.66bn buy-out of Avago Technologies in Singapore in 2005, and the pending US$900m buyout of Flextronics' software development and solutions business in India. KKR has been an active investor in the waste services and recycling industries, having acquired DSD in Germany in 2005 and AVR in the Netherlands in early 2006. For more information, please visit www.kkr.com.
CONTACTS:
For KKR:
In Asia-Pacific:
Richard Barton
Gavin Anderson & Company
T: +852 2218 9988 or
M: +852 9308 1056
E: rbarton@gavinanderson.com.hk
CONTACT: In Asia-Pacific: Richard Barton, Gavin Anderson & Company, T: +852-2218-9988, M: +852-9308-1056, E: rbarton@gavinanderson.com.hk
More information: www.kkr.com.
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