Navis Capital’s Device Tech rules off $400m debt deal
Pan-Asian private equity firm Navis Capital’s Device Technologies has hauled in $400 million from debt capital markets to refinance existing facilities and – more importantly – to bankroll its M&A ambitions.
Navis Capital. run in Australia by Phil Latham. Louise Kennerley
Street Talk understands the $400 million was underwritten by Commonwealth Bank and Westpac last week. The two banks have begun reaching out to credit funds to see if they would like a slice of the debt stack. Sources said Kelly Morton’s debt advisory firm Skye Capital oversaw the deal.
It is a clear sign Navis Capital will be out hunting for bolt-on acquisitions in the sectoras it approaches its fifth anniversary as Device Technologies’ owner.
Navis paid just north of $700 million for the medical supplies business in late 2018, buying it out of a sale process run by Goldman Sachs and Fort Street on behalf of Pemba Capital. It faced stiff competition in the auction, which also drew out Swiss company DKSH Holdings, trans-Tasman pharmacy supplier EBOS and rival buy-out firm Pacific Equity Partners.
Device Technologies was pitched to potential buyers as the largest independent provider of medical technology to hospitals and healthcare practitioners in Australia and New Zealand. It was founded in 1992 and now sells more than 200 brands and employs 1000-plus staff across Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
Its usual fare includes supplies for orthopaedics, robotics, theatre equipment, surgical solutions, opthalmic technology, plastic surgery, gastroenterology and cardiology.
It is chaired by Philip Latham, a Navis Capital deal maker who has led the Australian office since 2008. Day-to-day operations have been led by company lifer Michael Trevaskis as the CEO for
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