Good evening,

Tonight we’ve got a rare glimpse inside Australia’s biggest private equity firm.

We’ve got our hands on Pacific Equity Partners’ March quarter update, sent to investors in the past week and detailing the ins and outs of its portfolio.

The review makes it clear PEP’s deal makers have been incredibly busy – 10 deals in the past 12 months – but also shows that it may not be as easy for PE managers to make money for investors as it used to be.

PEP’s current funds (albeit with plenty of unrealised assets) trail returns set on its two previous vehicles, which both made more than two-times money for investors after fees.

Elsewhere, we have details on KKR’s attempts to float Pepper Money, which will ramp up when the management roadshow launches on Thursday.

Pepper and its brokers are expected to outline a $450 million to $500 million deal at 10.5 times to 11 times forecast profit. A bunch of funds have already taken an early look.

Finally – there’s a new small caps LIC coming to the ASX, which is the first one we’ve seen in at least three years.

Happy reading,
Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd
Street Talk Editors