Thought I would share a nice article by the AFR on dusk
https://www.copyright link/street-talk/smart-money-finds-dusk-fingers-point-at-afterpay-backer-20210416-p57jqj'Candle retailer Dusk Group appears to have found itself a new flame. The freshly-listed candle seller’s shares are up 15 per cent in the past week, thanks to a strong trading update and expectations it’ll be able to sustain a 30¢ a share dividend in the medium term.
The strong run has fundies and brokers searching for the smart money that bought into Dusk in mid-March, when the stock was sub-$3 a share and private equity groups BBRC Capital and Catalyst Investment Managers trimmed their stakes. (It closed at $3.42 on Monday).Someone either knew something – or got pretty lucky.
Sources told Street Talk that the most likely buyer wasn’t a run of the mill small cap investor with a few bob to deploy. Nor was it handler Canaccord Genuity’s retail network making an aggressive bid. Instead, Dusk is understood to have attracted an offshore investor that’s developed a track record taking stakes in Australian consumer companies.
A few fingers are pointing to US-based public and private equity investor Kinderhook Partners as a prime candidate.While Kinderhook keeps a low profile and is seldom spotted in Australia, it is developing an impressive track record Down Under. The firm was an early and big backer of buy now, pay later tearaway Afterpay, and owns more than 13 per cent of online homewares retailer and market darling Temple & Webster Group.
The success of those two investments alone now means that where Kinderhook now goes, a horde of its US-based friends typically follow. Whoever bought the Dusk shares in March is already well in front. The 2.2 million shares out of Brett Blundy’s BBRC and Catalyst crossed at $2.85 a share. Dusk’s recent trading ensures that it’s been one of the more successful initial public offerings of the past year. It listed at $2 a share on November 2.
Cool to see we may have a large backer, US-based as well which also points towards its plans over in the US
