KKR-backed Australian Venture Company acquired Spirit Hotels, the hotel and pokies business of Coles Group, an Australian public company operating numerous retail chains, for A$200m. Under the deal, Coles and AVC will form a joint venture called Queensland Venue Co. AVC will run the pubs business and receive the revenue and profits from those operations, while Coles will run and receive the profits from its bottle shops. “The agreement with AVC will enable each party to bring relevant expertise to the joint venture," Coles chief executive Steven Cain said.