One of the world’s largest private equity firms, TPG Capital, has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding an alleged car crash involving the firm’s high-profile Australian boss and separate allegations raised following the collision.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, TPG Capital said it had engaged an international law firm to conduct the probe, after its local boss, Joel Thickins, took leave from the firm after allegedly crashing his car into five vehicles in Sydney’s eastern suburbs earlier this month.
TPG owns multiple businesses in Australia including Greencross vets, and has previously controlled department store giant Myer and the country’s biggest chicken producer, Ingham’s, making it one of the nation’s most influential financial players.
The firm’s statement marks its first public comments on the incident this month. It came shortly after the publication of a report in The Australian Financial Review about a multimillion-dollar payout to a former senior TPG executive, Rob Speedie, after he reportedly threatened to expose what he described as a culture of drinking and drug-taking at the firm.
“TPG takes this situation seriously and has been working to assess the facts and context in full to identify an appropriate course of action,” a TPG spokeswoman said in the statement.
“Upon learning of the collision in Sydney, TPG promptly engaged a leading international law firm to conduct an investigation of both the circumstances surrounding the collision and other allegations of which we became aware following the accident. While we await the outcome of Australian court proceedings related to the collision, the investigation to date has not identified any evidence that corroborates these allegations.”
TPG Capital is not related to the telecommunications company of the same name.
Unlike public companies, private equity firms have relatively low local disclosure obligations and operate largely out of public view, despite the massive sums TPG and other private equity firms invest in the Australian market.
Early this month, NSW Police were called to a car crash in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, where Thickins allegedly crashed his BMW into a Mazda before allegedly hitting another four parked cars on York Road in Queens Park. He allegedly refused a roadside breath test.
The high-profile private equity boss, who also acts as the co-head of TPG’s Asia operation, was arrested and taken to Paddington police station for a breath analysis, NSW Police previously told this masthead in a statement. Thickins also allegedly refused the station breathalyser.
“He was given a court attendance notice for negligent driving and refuse or fail to submit to breath analysis,” police said in the statement. Thickins, who was contacted for comment, will appear before Waverley Local Court on June 30.
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John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
