Future fund, ROC Partners back Quadrant ’s new buyout fund | ReadyTech shareholders dig in for M&A battle | Global pharma group Cipla in Aussie M&A search

Good evening,

Chin up Macquarie Quants, we still love you.

Your Melbourne Cup tips were duds, again, but it’s not as though Street Talk had much more success finding a winner.

While the attention was on the races (and the RBA) on Tuesday afternoon, Street Talk found a nice new deal at Quadrant Private Equity.

Quadrant joined rival PEP in the continuation fund game, rolling its auto parts business MotorOne into a new fund in a transaction worth close to $450 million.

The deal would result in Quadrant’s QPE4 investors cashing out, and a new group coming into a new one-asset fund managed by Quadrant.

The new investors include Future Fund and ROC Partners – two of the biggest PE limited partners in the country – and some wealthy types via LGT Crestone.

There are plenty of firsts in the deal, and it’s one sure to surprise rival private equity managers and investors. It also feels like the sort of transaction we could be seeing more of in the coming years.

Elsewhere, we spoke to some ReadyTech investors for their thoughts on PEP’s bid, and have caught some advisers looking at pharma M&A for Indian bigwig Cipla.

Happy reading,

Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood
Street Talk editors