Last night, was Azure Group’s second CFO Networking event, held in conjunction with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and by all accounts it was a success.
Nearly 40 CFOs and high level finance professionals attended the Institute’s offices on Erskine Street in Sydney. The topic for the evening was capital raising.
The two speakers of the evening were very well received.
Firstly Craig Cartner from Archer Capital[i] spoke on private equity in Australia since the GFC and what Archer Capital particularly looked for when investing in businesses. Craig shared some interesting insights, like over the last five years in Australia there was a total Private Equity investment of $5.7 billion into 570 Australian companies and also in the last five years the amount of Private Equity monies raised amounted to $18.5 billion compared to $8.7 billion invested.
Next to present was Paul Miller from Deutsch Miller[ii] who spoke about the legalities of capital raising for both private and public companies. Paul shared his knowledge of whether a business should produce disclosure documents, including the current exemptions, types of disclosure documents and content requirements (see below for Paul's presentation).
Initiated by Azure Group, the purpose of the CFO Network events is to provide CFOs working with small and medium sized enterprises the opportunity to network with fellow colleagues and draw on each other’s knowledge and expertise.
Being a CFO of a SME brings its own set of challenges. More often than not they operate independently with limited interaction with other CFOs and at times they lack the opportunity to access ideas, feedback and advice from their peers.
The next CFO Network event will be held on 7 September, once again at the Institute. The topic will focus on debt raising and bank loans and we’ll have two great speakers from ANZ Bank, a business lending specialist and an economist.
Once more we’d like to express our appreciation to the Institute of Chartered Accountants for their support and cooperation in bringing the CFO Network to life.
[i] Archer Capital is one of Australia’s biggest private equity groups. As a partner, Craig Cartner targets buyouts and acquisitions of businesses worth between $20 and $100 million. He is a former director of AMP Capital Investors, responsible for deal sourcing, deal execution and the management and realization of investments, with a particular focus on small to mid-sized buyouts.
[ii] Paul Miller is a founding partner of Deutsch Miller, a boutique corporate and commercial law firm. Paul Miller has over 10 years experience at top law firms in both Australia and the UK advising listed and unlisted companies on various fundraising transactions. His areas of specialization include capital raisings, floatations, joint ventures, mergers & acquisitions, MBOs, venture capital/private equity and a variety of commercial contracts.
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