Management

Previously a publicly listed company, Veda Advantage is now owned by VA Australia Finance, a consortium comprising of Pacific Equity Partners and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity.

Pacific Equity Partners

Pacific Equity Partners ("PEP") is the most active private equity fund in Australia and New Zealand, providing strategic management experience and capital resources to grow companies in a range of business situations. PEP Fund IV is the largest private equity fund in Australia and the firm has over $4.5 billion of equity funds under management. Since its establishment in 1998, PEP has made 18 portfolio company acquisitions and more than 20 add-on acquisitions at the company level.

PEP currently has 12 companies in its portfolio with combined revenues in excess of $3 billion per annum, spanning industries including food, liquor, technology, financial record-keeping and retail trade. In the past year, PEP has acquired:

  • Veda Advantage - The leading provider of business and financial intelligence services through the use of financial record-keeping, analytics and technology.
  • Independent Liquor - A leading manufacturer and distributor of alcoholic beverages in Australia and New Zealand, with a particular focus in the ready-to-drink (RTD) category.
  • Australian Administration Services (AAS) - A provider of administration services to the superannuation and retail master trust industries. AAS has been merged with Link Market Services, a share registrar and analytic business also owned by PEP.

Detailed information about PEP's entire portfolio and its exited investments can be found at www.pep.com.au.

Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity

Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity ("MLGPE") is the private equity arm of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. ("Merrill Lynch"). Through MLGPE vehicles, Merrill Lynch carries out equity and equity-linked investments, buyouts and acquisitions.

Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies, with offices in 37 countries and territories and total client assets of approximately $1.6 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch owns approximately half of BlackRock, one of the world's largest publicly traded investment management companies, with more than $1 trillion in assets under management. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com.