Goldman Sachs has hired two Macquarie veterans to be co-heads of its Australian equities business. 

It's understood Macquarie's Ben Clifford and Mario Argyrides will join Goldman Sachs as managing directors. 

The pair were division directors at Macquarie. 

The hires were announced internally at Goldman Sachs on Friday and were expected to be a signal of things to come.  

Goldman Sachs Australia CEO Simon Rothery said in a memo to staff: 

"Benjamin and Mario will lead our equities team to drive the strategy and impact of our client franchise in Australia and New Zealand and will also become members of the Australia and New Zealand Operating Committee.

"Our clients will benefit from Benjamin and Mario's combined 30 years' experience as we focus on the growth of our franchise and our unrelenting commitment to our equities clients in the Australian and New Zealand markets." 

He said Clifford worked for 12 years with Macquarie in Sydney and Tokyo, most recently as head of sales trading for Australia, while Argyrides ran Macquarie's local block trade desk. 

It comes as Goldman Sachs re-stocks its local equities team following a string of senior departures this year, including its former equities co-heads Dyson Bowditch and Steven Maartensz who are both joining JPMorgan.

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If there is one deal that can tell the story of listed equity markets this year, it is clothing retailer Retail Apparel Group. 

Heading into 2017, private equity-backed RAG was full steam ahead towards a $200 million-odd initial public offering. The retailer's majority shareholder Navis Capital had Goldman Sachs ready to sell the sales growth story to fund managers, had lined up three directors for a new board including former Metcash boss Andrew Reitzer, and planned to have the business listed by the middle of this year. 

Navis would retain a stake at the IPO, and planned to stick around as a minority investor for another 12-months or more.

It had even ceased talks with a handful of potential private equity and strategic buyers that popped up when it sounded the market in the middle of last year, including South Africa's The Foschini Group. 

But only two months into 2017, things had changed. 

Market sentiment towards new listings had soured, and particularly those from private equity vendors. 

And then came Amazon - or at least fear of what Amazon's entry into Australia would do to local retailers. Investors dumped listed retail stocks like Super Retail Group, JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman, while sell-side brokers slashed earnings forecasts and target prices. 

Navis, advised by Fort Street and King & Wood Mallesons, had two options. 

It could seek a smaller compliance listing for its owner of Tarocash, yd and other brands at a low multiple and raise only enough equity to pay down debt. 

Or it could reignite talks with Foschini. 

A compliance listing would have meant sticking with RAG for another few years, or more. But Navis Capital was already six years into its investment, which meant the clock was ticking on its involvement. 

So it was back to Foschini. 

The talks ended with Foschini signing a $302 million deal for full control on Thursday. Navis Capital made just under 3-times money on its investment, which is the sort of number that would have made its own investors happy. 

It's not exactly clear when the deal switched from IPO to strategic buyer.

Although in reality, it was the only feasible option. Navis Capital and its broker could push the proverbial uphill and try to explain to 100 fund managers about why Amazon would not impact RAG's business and earnings, or it could accept a $302 million cheque from someone who knew the industry better than most. 

In the end, it's another one listed equity fund managers let go. Although it's doubtful too many regret that decision just yet. 

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Archer Capital is keeping the big names of Australian motor racing on tenterhooks as it readies its next move at V8 Supercars. 

With first round bids in last week, Street Talk understands Archer and adviser UBS are still working through the bids and talking to multiple parties about the next step.

While it is early days, what's certain is that the team owners will play a key role in the sport's future. 

Interestingly, sources said motor racing enthusiast and PAYCE Consolidated Ltd founder Brian Boyd is said to be around the process, seeking to up his role in the sport and its ownership ranks. 

Boyd is best known in business circles for privatising his property company PAYCE Consolidated last year. 

There's also understood to be a private equity suitor in the mix, although sources said the offer was "opportunistic at best."

As this column has reported, the teams, which own a minority 35 per cent stake in V8 Supercars, have a put option which hands them some level of control in the sale process. 

The option means that if Archer finds a big enough offer for its 65 per cent stake, the teams can vend their combined 35 per cent into the bid. 

Alternatively, if Archer struggles to squeeze a decent price out of the buyers, the teams could even think about taking back the sport in its entirety.

Either way, it seems unlikely Archer will achieve the $300 million valuation its own bid put on the sport in 2011. 

The V8s stake is held in Archer's fourth fund, which has already returned more than 1.5 times money for investors. 

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It's funny that the worse a company looks, the more advisers it attracts. 

And we doubt they ever turn up to help out of the goodness of their hearts. 

Street Talk can reveal Ten Network's board met on Thursday. No doubt one of the topics of the moment would have been the company's perilous debt position, with an army of advisers offering plenty of direction.

Firstly, there's McKinsey, who've created the free-to-air broadcaster's turnaround plan  - former McKinsey consultant Ivan Yu was recently appointed Ten chief transformation officer.

There's Gilbert + Tobin, which is providing legal advice and has engaged KordaMentha to advise on restructuring.

And then there's Citi, Ten's go-to investment bank. 

Meanwhile, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which has a $200 million loan on the hook with Ten expiring in December, has PPB Advisory on the hook should it need to appoint a receiver, and billionaire guarantors of that loan, Bruce Gordon, Lachlan Murdoch and James Packer, have Fort Street Advisers' special situations banker Jim McKnight, working away, both revealed by this column.

But, like a series of Masterchef or Survivor, the list goes on.

Street Talk can reveal Moelis & Co has been drafted in to provide further financial advice to Ten, with head of corporate finance Chris Wyke leading the charge.

The CBA loan is the key to keeping Ten afloat - without its billionaire backers behind a new $250 million credit guarantee, banks are unlikely to lend to the troubled broadcaster and it could go into receivership.

There are three key things Ten needs in order convince its billionaire trio of shareholders to back a new loan - its transformation program, renegotiation of material programming contracts and cuts to broadcast licence fees.

Gordon is Ten's largest shareholder with 15 per cent and Murdoch owns 7.7 per cent (News Corp, of which Murdoch is co-chair, via Foxtel, has another 13.9 per cent). UBS is understood to be working for Packer, who had shopped around his 7.7 per cent stake in Ten, with few interested buyers.

As the Financial Review revealed, the government has announced significant cuts to licence fees and Ten is looking to significantly reduce its massive US output deals - forcing them to buy a list of content regardless of its ratings performance - with CBS and 21st Century Fox, of which Murdoch is executive chairman. Ten executives, including CEO Paul Anderson, were in the US last week for Los Angeles Screenings.

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Melbourne-based asset manager Antares Equities has closed its long-running Australian small caps strategy and will return funds to investors next month. 

The fund manager told clients late last week that it had been unable to recruit a lead portfolio manager to run the Antares Small Companies Fund and it was considered in the best interest of investors to close the fund, as Street Talk revealed on Thursday. 

The responsible entity, Antares Capital Partners, said it would sell the assets in an orderly manner before returning money to clients in early June. 

The decision comes less than three months after Antares told clients it was losing small caps portfolio managers Stephen Croft and Stuart Wilson. 

The small companies fund returned 9.2 per cent a year for investors net of fees since inception in November 1999, while the benchmark gained an average 4.5 per cent. 

Its recent holdings included overweight positions in NIB Holdings, IDP Education, Western Areas and Fletcher Building, according to the firm's March quarterly update. 

It's understood the fund was worth $23 million when it closed. 

Antares has more than $33 billion in assets under management, including $6.4 billion in Australian equities as at March 31. The equities division was previously known as Portfolio Partners and Aviva Investors. 

The firm is backed by  National Australia Bank's NAB Asset Management. 

It also comes at a tough time for small caps managers across the market. 

Goldman Sachs' team recently told clients that they reckon that most of the local small caps managers had just experienced their toughest year ever, with the market expensive, value hard to find and the initial public offering contenders unreliable. 

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