Good evening,

One more shot, please for KKR.

Street Talk understands the private equity giant is hunkered down in exclusive due diligence with PAG Asia Capital for its Aussie pubs roll-up, Australian Venue Co, which owns landmark pubs like St Kilda’s The Espy.

Should PAG stand up a binding bid, it would spell a big payday for KKR. Sources said AVC has performed strongly and could be worth $1.4 billion, which is a decent premium to the $900 million-odd that BGH Capital was understood to have offered last year.

It should also finally let KKR deal makers breathe easy on figuring out their AVC exit. Readers will remember it tried (and abandoned) an IPO and has flirted with other suitors, including Blackstone − without hitting a deal.

Over in infrastructure, airport deals are flying thick and fast. Street Talk can reveal Perth Airport’s investor, The Infrastructure Fund, is looking to exit its 7.19 per cent stake as passenger volumes rebound to pre-pandemic levels. UBS has got the gig, and would be competing for investor attention with Barrenjoey, which is mandated to sell 40 per cent of Queensland Airports Limited.

Elsewhere, clinicals trials deals are flaring up again, and Quadrant’s JayBro is stitching up additional debt for future bolt-on acquisitions.

Happy reading,
Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Street Talk editors