Dear AVCAL Colleague,

AVCAL is closing the office till January 7th so I thought I'd take this last opportunity of 2007 to wish you all the best. We wanted to quickly inform you that the new IIF licence round has opened (see below for futher information) and to bring to your attention a couple of reports that you might find interesting.

In the meantime, Happy Holidays, leave the crackberries at home and have cranberries instead.





The Applications Called for IIF - Round Three Tranche Two

On 19 December, The Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, announced the commencement of the second tranche of round three of the Australian Government's Innovation Investment Fund (IIF). As part of the program, the Government will match up to $20 million of capital for each of the successful venture capital managers. The funding is for the commercialisation of companies in seed, start-up or early expansion stage.

Applications close on 29 February 2008. To assist potential applicants, information seminars will be held in:

Press Release Links

Applications Called for Innovation Investment Fund - Round Three Tranche Two

Call for applications and invitation to industry information sessions





Private equity backed floats beat the market

According to two academic studies based in the UK and Germany, initial public offerings (IPOs) backed by private equity (PE) companies outperformed the stock market and other non-PE backed IPOs. The UK study showed that an investor buying an equal share in every PE backed IPO since 1990 and selling 3 years later would have beaten the FT All-Share index by 3.3 times.

Christian von Drathen and Flaviano Faleiro at the London Business School stated, "Criticism of LBO-backed IPOs is largely unwarranted." The 128 IPOs of private equity firms listed in the UK between 1990 and 2006 averaged annual returns of 18.4 percent in the first three years. The 1,121 non-private equity backed listings had annual returns of 11.9 percent. A Deutsche Bank sponsored, Germany study found similar results, as private equity backed IPOs returned more than three times the CDAX index.

Related Article - LBO flotations 'outperform stock market'





KPMG - Private Equity: Implications for Economic Growth in Asia Pacific

A report released by KPMG has stated the dramatic increase of private equity (PE) across the entire Asia-Pacific region through 2006 and into 2007. The report was compiled through surveying a range of general partners, directors and executives, who are both based and investing in the Asia Pacific Private Equity industry.

The report presents a statistical view of the sector relating to; size, structure, location and sector of investments. Additionally, the report provides a breakdown of criticisms and regulatory responses across the region, comparing them to the larger markets in the United Kingdom and United States. KPMG Asia Pacific Report





Private Equity and Venture Capital in Australia 2007

Providing an overview of private equity and venture capital activity in Australia, this latest publication shows that the Australian private equity and venture capital industry is the second most active market in the Asia-Pacific region behind China.

The Australian private equity and venture capital industry is one of the leaders in the Asia-Pacific region and ranks 11th globally, as outlined in Invest Australia's latest financial services publication.

Private Equity and Venture Capital in Australia 2007.



All the best,


Katherine Woodthorpe
Chief Executive