“The sentiment from them has been not just overwhelmingly negative, they are just baffled,” Mr Schellbach told journalists during a briefing on Thursday.
“That’s why the traded volumes that we had through them over the last six weeks have dried up. They are staying on the sidelines.
“Essentially they look at this situation and are thinking ‘whoa, what exactly are you guys trying to do here?'”
Since May 2, when the government announced the proposed tax on mining companies, the local S&P/ASX200 index has fallen 5.2 per cent.
At the same time, the S&P500 index on Wall Street has slipped 6.1 per cent and London’s FTSE 100 has backpedalled 5.7 per cent.
The Shanghai Composite was down 10.5 per cent over the same period.
Mr Schellbach said the combination of low valuations on equities, combined with the improving cost of corporate debt, may tempt private equity players back to the table in the year ahead.
He also said potential mega deals, such as the unsuccessful attempt for national flag carrier Qantas Airways Ltd, were unlikely.
Instead, private equity firms were likely to focus on “pretty boring”, non-cyclical businesses with stable, predictable cashflows and market capitalisation between $1 billion and $2 billion.
“Because the banks are not as willing to provide funding of the magnitude as was the case three years ago, you are not going to get the front-page type blockbuster deals of buying out $10-$20 billion corporate icons,” Mr Schellbach said.
Sectors to look out for were healthcare, beverages and consumer stables, he said.
Private equity firms have made bids for hospital operator Healthscope Ltd and Boom Logistics recently.