Adamantem Capital is understood to be in divestment mode, with the buyout fund hiring investment banks for the sale of at least two of its businesses. The private equity firm founded by former Pacific Equity Partners operatives is understood to have hired investment UBS to revive the sale process for its New Zealand smallgoods business Hellers Limited. Meanwhile, Adamantem Capital - as well as Downer EDI Limited (ASX:DOW) - are selling their laundries business, Linen Services Australia, DataRoom understands.

Lazard is understood to be working to find a buyer of 100% of the business, once known as Spotless Laundries, and the understanding is that two of the industry heavyweights based in France are within its sights. This includes Elis, which has looked at Spotless before. Adamantem paid $155 million for a 70% stake in the business when it was up for sale by Downer, which had been keen to sell the entire company, which former Downer boss Grant Fenn considered capital intensive.

Hellers has been up for sale before through investment bank Credit Suisse, which UBS now owns. The sale could be a challenging assignment, with industry heavyweight JBS operating as the other major smallgoods operator across the Tasman.