Dealmakers are packing their bathers and heading to the Gold Coast

Good morning,

Australia’s dealmakers are packing their bags for the annual pilgrimage to the Australian Investment Conference.

This year’s venue: the iconic Christopher Skase-developed Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort on the Gold Coast, snapped up by pub baron Arthur Laundy and fellow Rich Lister Theo Karedis from embattled Star Entertainment in May.

Street Talk understands all the usual suspects will be there, the big buyout shops KKR, Blackstone, PEP, Quadrant, Allegro, and TPG and Australia’s VC class AirTree, OneVentures, Blackbird and Square Peg, hoping to get some face time in with their LPs.

Executives from debt players Ares Management, Metrics and Skye will be milling around the coffee cart while superannuation CIOs – Sam Sicilia of Hostplus, Sonya Sawtell-Rickson from HESTA and Aware’sDamian Graham – address an auditorium of more than 500 with their “view from the top”.

Event organisers have also roped in some former politicians: ANU chancellor and ex-Greensill adviser Julie Bishop and ex-NSW cabinet minister turned academic Victor Dominello.

All eyes will be on keynote speaker, David Jones chief Scott Fyfe, six months into turning around the 185-year-old retail icon’s fortunes post Anchorage Capital’s acquisition.

But the real fun is reserved for the after parties – the first at the opulent Palazzo Versace – which are unfortunately expected to be more restrained than previous years, where dealmakers would be found spending their bonus cheques at the blackjack table. Still, the knees-ups are a welcome opportunity to network, pick up an award and goss about the eyebrow-raising people moves at Quadrant (in the absence of big-ticket transactions).

And in an early Lunch Watch for the week: Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch lunching at Sydney institution Bambini Trust.

Happy reading,

Tribeca Investment Partners is touting a new infrastructure fund, backed by an Asian sovereign wealth fund. The fund’s new client had given it enough firepower to play as a cornerstone investor in APA Group’s $675 million placement last week.

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