Diversified investment company Hellaby Holdings is selling its Equipment Group business to a private equity fund for $81 million.
Photo: 123RF
The conditional sale to Maui Capital Aqua Fund was expected to give Hellaby a $30m capital gain, which would be used to pay down debt and fund further investments in automotive and resources - its core business focus.
Hellaby managing director Alan Clarke said the company had not been planning to sell the equipment group, but thought Maui's unsolicited offer was a good deal for shareholders.
He said Maui had significant expertise and was committed to growing the Equipment Group, which specialised in heavy equipment sales, servicing and forklift rentals.
"We are now transitioning to a long-term committed business owner with a focus on the automotive and resource services sectors, where we have identified attractive organic and acquisition growth prospects in large scalable markets," he said.
"We believe that together, these two groups have the potential to deliver over $1 billion in revenue with attractive profits in five years' time, and Hellaby is well positioned to realise this ambition."
Mr Clarke said Hellaby was still looking to sell its footwear businesses, Hannahs and Number One Shoes, which were no longer considered core assets.
Hellaby also owns vehicle parts manufacturers and a majority of Contract Resources, which provides services to facilities that process oil, gas, petrochemicals, minerals, paper and electricity.
Mr Clarke said the company had been in discussions with various interested parties, but was holding out for a good price and was in no hurry to sell.
