By François Rowell – Exit of the year : Here it is, the big deal of the summer: Blackstone and Lion Capital signed a huge exit, the largest this year in France by a country mile, with the EUR 2.57bn sale of the Orangina Schweppes Group to Suntory, the Japanese drinks company. The buyout houses are likely to have generated over 2x money, a true achievement considering the markets.
The deal could not have come at a better time. After a relatively quiet summer, the deal seems like a light of the end of a long tunnel, with a number of other private equity houses also considering exit options. While the trade sale has remained the main exit option for GPs in the downturn, it was nonetheless limited.
In fact there are signs the public markets might finally be set to re-open after a slow thaw and improved conditions since the summer. In France, BC Partners is hoping to have Medica, its Issy-Les-Moulineaux-based home care portfolio company, in the public domain around the end of the year. In the UK, Permira and Apax Partners are looking to float clothing retailer New Look which would amount to a GBP 1.7bn stock listing. Additionally, CVC, Permira and Charterhouse -backed Acromas (the AA and Saga) could also be in line for an IPO worth over GBP 8bn.
Can we expect a snowball effect if indeed 2010 is the year of the IPO, as I hear? Well it seems a bit early to get carried away with such bold statements, but things are certainly looking up.
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The week in review…
Blackstone and Lion agree EUR 2.6bn Orangina sale
Blackstone and Lion Capital have agreed the sale of Orangina Schweppes Group to Suntory Holdings, in a deal valued at around EUR 2.6bn. The deal will be the largest private equity exit in France this year and one of the largest in Europe.
Suntory is a Japanese drinks manufacturer which produces drinks ranging from whiskey to bottled green tea. Suntory is currently in merger talks with its main rival Kirin in Japan.
Paris-based Orangina is the second largest soft drinks manufacturer in Europe, owning a number of high profile drinks brands such as Orangina, Schweppes, Oasis, Trina and La Casera. The company has revenues of over EUR 1bn and employs around 2500 people.
Cadbury Schweppes originally sold a majority stake of the company to Blackstone and Lion Capital three years ago for EUR 1.85bn. Orangina was bought by Cadbury Schweppes in 2001 from Pernod Ricard.
LBO France acquires Geoxia
LBO France has purchased Geoxia, a construction company, in a secondary buyout from the management team who held an 80% stake and Natixis subsidiaries NI Partners and Initiative & Finance which between them held the balance. Although the sale originally involved Butler Capital, complications in the negotiations resulted in LBO France completing the sale.
Geoxia, based in Paris, is a designer and constructor of family housing. It offers a number of different designs such as Phoenix House, Family House, and Catherine Mamet House.
BC Partners looking to float Medica
BC Partners is thought to be preparing a floatation of home care portfolio company Medica, expected before the end of the year.
BC Partners purchased Medica in 2006 for EUR 750m alongside AXA Private Equity, who took a minority stake with RBS arranging the debt. The Paris-based business was founded in the mid-eighties and grew by merging smaller retirement home businesses, under the direction of the Caisse des Dépots et Consignations.
Odysee and AVM acquire AutoReflex in EUR 15m deal
It is understood that Odysée Venture and AVM Associati have acquired an 85% stake in online publishing firm AutoReflex, in a deal that values the company at EUR 15m.
Following the transaction the two investors each hold a 42.6% stake in the business, with the remainder retained by the founding managers.
Based in Paris, AutoReflex specialises in online publishing of ads for the automotive sector. The company’s turnover has increased from EUR 2.65m in 2006 to EUR 8.1m last year, with projections putting 2009 revenue up again at EUR 9m. The company has an Ebitda margin of about 30%.
Ventech and Auriga invest EUR 2m into BonitaSoft
Ventech and Auriga Partners have invested EUR 2m into software company BonitaSoft.
Grenoble-based BonitaSoft is a provider of open source Business Process Management (BPM) software. The company was founded in 2009 by Miguel Valdes, Rodrigue Le Gall and Charles Souillard.
NextStage makes EUR 1m Expertissim investment
NextStage has invested EUR 1m in Expertissim, an online art retail platform.
Expertissim utilises 34 independent experts to describe and authenticate items for sale, with the aim of establishing the internet as a viable medium by which to sell authentic art.
The financing round will be used to finance the companys development both in France and abroad. Expertissim was founded in 2008 by Gauthier de Vanssay and Igor Montoussé.
AXA PE abandon Areva pursuit
AXA Private Equity has pulled out of a possible deal to acquire state-backed Areva’s power distribution unit.
AXA PE had planned to team up with Charterhouse Capital Partners in order to bid for the global nuclear energy company’s unit, which is thought to be worth around EUR 3bn.
Meanwhile, Alstom and Schnider Electric have made a joint bid for the company. The sale is set to fund Areva’s spending program as well as cover cost overruns and finance the shut down of old reactors.
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