A German internet billionaire, a former reality TV star and a "unicorn" walk into a room. 
It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but this was actually supposed to happen in Sydney on Monday. 
Investment bank Goldman Sachs was scheduled to host an investor lunch for HelloFresh, a Berlin based company that sources and delivers ingredients for specific meals, ahead of an IPO in coming months. 
Hello Fresh is a so-called "unicorn", one of those mythical creatures that is not as rare as it used to be: a technology startup valued in the private markets at more than $US1 billion.
Oliver Samwer, one of Germany's most successful internet entrepreneurs (and richest citizens),  whose controversial startup factory Rocket Internet is the largest shareholder in HelloFresh, was supposed to be in attendance, alongside company's management, including Tom Rutledge, a former contestant on the hit show Masterchef, who's runs its Australian operations.  
But in a dramatic turn of events, the lunches did not go ahead at the eleventh hour amid reports Hello Fresh had pulled its IPO. 
It's arguably another sign that all is not well in the land of the unicorns. 
Still, when was the last time a large offshore company of any kind actively marketed an IPO to (notoriously parochial) Australian fund managers?
Regardless, that it planned to speaks to the phenomenal growth of international equity funds being managed from Australia - that is, funds that invest in companies listed offshore. Magellan Financial Group and Platinum Asset Management are probably the most famous success stories in this field, but they're far from alone. 
According to Morningstar, global equity managers based in Sydney now manage $32 billion in unlisted funds, up from $17.8 billion in 2010. There is another $3.6 billion in ASX-listed global equity investment vehicles, up from $1.4 billion five years ago. And these numbers still exclude Australian family offices and money managed by superannuation funds "in house." 
The Hello Fresh pitches also demolish the myth that Australian investors aren't interested in the internet sector. Organisers told Fairfax Media that they were surprised at the level of interest in the event. And not just from local fund managers running global money.
Domestic fund managers wanted access to offshore internet companies because their Australian investments are increasingly being affected by them. Think of Uber's effect on Cabcharge, or Netflix's impact on the domestic TV landscape. 
Samwer and his brothers are among the most interesting internet entrepreneurs on the planet. They've built a multi-billion dollar empire largely by copying existing internet business models and brining them to new markets.  Their current investments include Australian online fashion retailer The Iconic. 
Update: This story has been updated to reflect the news that this week's lunches did not go ahead, amid reports Hello Fresh has postponed its IPO due to market conditions.