Deals add up for Carnegie, Wylie & Co
23 January 2007
Australian Financial Review

Boutique corporate adviser Carnegie, Wylie & Co has joined rival Caliburn Partnership in more than doubling profits last year and could be in for an even bigger year as it seeks to capitalise on a boom in mergers and acquisitions.

Carnegie, Wylie & Co, jointly founded by John Wylie and Mark Carnegie in 1999, reported a $19.5 million profit in the year to June 2006, up from $9.5 million the previous year.

The firm played a role in some of the country's biggest deals. It advised BHP Billiton on its $9.2 billion takeover of WMC Resources, Coles Myer on its $1.4 billion sale of Myer and Toll Holdings on the $7.4 billion takeover of Patrick Corp. It also prepared Telstra for the federal government's $15.5 billion sell-down in November.

Last year, Carnegie, Wylie was ranked the eighth-busiest firm on corporate advisory work in Australia's $103 billion M&A market and the most active boutique player.

The firm has been hiring staff as it works on a string of major mandates, including advising Alinta and Qantas on Macquarie Bank-backed buy-out proposals and Suncorp Metway on its takeover of Promina.

During the year, Carnegie, Wylie was restructured, with a new holding company interposed between the reporting entity and Mr Wylie and Mr Carnegie. A number of investments in director-related entities were also divested.

The company paid $24.5 million in fully franked dividends, most of which will be shared by Mr Wylie and Mr Carnegie. Unlike in previous years, the salaries of Mr Wylie and Mr Carnegie were not detailed. However, Carnegie, Wylie did reveal that key management personnel, including the two founders and other senior executives, were paid a total of $907,503.

In 2005, the two directors were each paid less than $10,000 but shared $8.5 million in fully franked dividends.

The firm says it is made up of a team of 22, which includes Alan Kohler, who also works with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.