Carlyle and Seven Groups to Refinance Coates Hire Debt

The Carlyle Group and Australia’s Seven Group Holdings, owners of Australian rental chain Coates Hire, are refinancing about AU$1.8 billion (about U.S. $1.7 billion) of debt tied to Coates Hire after failing to find a buyer for the equipment rental business, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

Coates, one of Australia’s oldest businesses, now operates more than 200 stores in Australia. Carlyle and Seven acquired Coates in 2008 in an AU $2.9 billion deal. Carlyle and Seven each own about 46 percent of the company, and refinanced loans to the company in 2012.

Last year the two firms hired Goldman Sachs, Japan’s Nomura Holdings and China’s CICC to conduct a strategic review of Coates and find a buyer. However, in June, Coates said that offers from Malaysia’s UMW Holdings, Japan’s Mitsui & Co. and Australia’s Wesfarmers Ltd., among others, were below Carlyle and Seven’s expectations and the owners said in June they would retain their holdings.