Judo Capital has closed on 140 million Australian dollars ($103.9 million) in an initial equity raise. Judo, of Melbourne, is a specialist lender to the Australian SME sector. First Avenue Partners acted as placement agent for Judo.
We are pleased to announce the successful close of the initial equity raise for Judo Capital, a specialist lender to the Australian SME sector. Investors committed an initial A$140 million with substantial follow-on capacity over the next five years. This is one of the largest fundraisings of a pre-revenue company in Australia’s corporate history.
First Avenue Partners acted as placement agent for Judo.
Ashurst acted as legal counsel for Judo.
Co-CEOs of Judo, David Hornery and Joseph Healy said: “We are delighted with the outcome of our Round One Equity Raising and the tremendous support provided to us by First Avenue.”
First Avenue’s Managing Partner, Paul Buckley said: “The success of this fundraising was in no small measure due to investors recognising the quality of the Judo team and its credibility in being able to execute on a plan to build Australia’s first challenger bank.”
First Avenue’s Sydney based Partner and co-Head of Asia, Martin Donnelly noted: “The success of the Judo capital raise is a great testimony to the rigour of preparation of the Judo team, the integrity of the Australian financial services marketplace and the long term, sustainable growth of the Australian economy. These factors allowed us to attract a globally diverse investor base.”