Bain’s Sankaty to Open Australian Office to Expand in Region

Sankaty Advisors LLC, the debt- investment unit of Bain Capital LLC, is opening an office in Melbourne as it bolsters its operation in the Australian region.

Mitchell Stack, who joined Sankaty last year from Australia’s A$80 billion ($83 billion) sovereign wealth fund, will be managing director of the Melbourne office, said Andrew Stokes, an external spokesman for Sankaty at FTI Consulting Inc. in Sydney.

Sankaty “have actively been investing in the region for several years and currently have several investments in Australia and New Zealand,” Stokes said.

The unit, an affiliate of Boston-based Bain that had $18.9 billion of assets under management at Sept. 30, is seeking $1 billion for its second fund that will lend to middle-market companies, people familiar with the matter said Feb. 7. It took part in the debt-for-equity swap of Australia’s Alinta Energy Holdings Pty Ltd. in 2010, according to the utility’s website.

A pullback in lending by banks and other traditional lenders has prompted firms, including Carlyle Group LP and KKR & Co., to raise first-time funds that will make loans to mid-size businesses. Banks have been turning away from those businesses as they face higher capital costs.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brett Foley in Melbourne at bfoley8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Philip Lagerkranser at lagerkranser@bloomberg.net