Good evening,

HMC Capital has convinced former prime minister Julia Gillard to sign up as chairman of its $2 billion Energy Transition Fund. Now, sleeves rolled up, it’s on the hunt for a seed asset.

Street Talk can reveal that HMC Capital has tabled a non-binding indicative offer to buy a stake in Symphony Infrastructure Partners, which pitches itself as a one-stop shop for renewable energy generators requiring network connections to the grid.

Sources said HMC was going toe-to-toe with a few infrastructure investors in the auction’s second stage. Binding bids are due to be submitted in June.

Should it win, HMC is expected to house the asset in its brand-new Energy Transition Fund, spearheaded by the highly regarded Angela Karl, a banker-turned-investor, who spent the past 11 years at QIC Ltd.

Symphony has been shopped with a $40 million EBITDA forecast for this financial year, thanks to five acquisitions that have either been signed or are in an advanced stage. However, it is no secret that the business’s calling card is its team’s past spoils and its competitive position amid Australia’s requirement of 120 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity by 2050.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

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Mid-market private equity firm Anacacia Capital thinks its Force Fire Group is smoking hot, and is ready to bring in potential bidders to take a look at the books. A sale flyer shows FFG expects to make $106.4 million in revenue and $8.7 million in EBITDA in the 2025 financial year, which would mean a three-year compounded annual growth rate of 19 per cent and 49.7 per cent, respectively.

Australian shares fell for the third straight session on Thursday, as investor risk appetite continued to falter and concerns about the path of inflation once again took hold.

Click here for the latest equity market wrap.