The management buyout was lead by DB Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Deutsche Asset Management, which made the investment on behalf of client, the LGSS.

Waratah Engineering provides a range of services to the underground coal mining industry in Australia including equipment hire, machine rebuilds, spare parts supply and general repair and maintenance.

The buyout will enable Waratah to continue to grow its engineering business, which currently employs around 60 local people.

The buyout was funded by a combination of equity from Waratah’s management team and RDT New South Wales 1 (RDT), a regional development fund managed by DB Capital Partners (LGSS is the founding investor in RDT), as well as term debt from Westpac.

Vice president at DB Capital Partners, Martin Donnelly, welcomed the opportunity to invest in the successful Newcastle company.

“Waratah provides essential equipment and services to one of Australia’s largest export industries – coal. The background and experience of the management team at Waratah is unsurpassed, and the company holds a dominant position within its market sector– two qualities we believe contribute to providing an attractive investment profile for our client,” he said.

The management buy out team of six will be led by managing director, Mark Kingshott.

“In our chosen market sector, we have established ourselves as a highly credible alternative to the OEM for top quality rebuilds and repairs. Although the ownership has changed, it is still very much 'business as usual' at Waratah. Providing a top quality service to our customers remains our primary objective,” Kingshott said.

He will be joined on the board by operations director Stuart Barclay, Alex Varley and DB Capital Partners’ Martin Donnelly.