3i’s Action completes €840m refinancing

The refinancing comprises a €780m term loan B and €60m revolving credit facility. The term loan will be used to refinance existing debt, repay shareholder loans and finance a dividend to shareholders.

Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Rabobank, Natixis and ABN Amro arranged the refinancing.

3i, which owns a 75% stake in Action, has reaped £100m from the transaction.

The deal marks the second refinancing for Action under 3i's ownership. In September 2013, the company completed a €275m refinancing with BNP Paribas, Natixis, Rabobank and UBS.

3i stood to reap a £58m dividend from the transaction.

Previous investment
3i acquired Action in July 2011 as part of a management buyout that was estimated to value the company at €500m. The firm invested via its 3i Eurofund V, which closed in November 2006 on €5bn, well above the original €3.5bn target.

According to unquote" data, Rabobank was mandated as sole lead arranger and bookrunner for an all-senior debt package to support the transaction, with syndication scheduled to launch in the weeks following the deal.

At the time of 3i's investment, Action operated 250 stores and employed 7,000 staff.

Company
Founded in 1993 and headquartered near Medemblik, Action is a retailer of non-food discount goods. The company operates around 500 stores across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France.

Action employs around 20,000 staff. It generated an EBITDA of €128m on revenues of €1.15bn in 2013.

People
Ronald van der Mark is the CEO of Action. Robert Van Goethem is a partner at 3i and head of the firm's consumer division.

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• Topics
• Restructuring
• Benelux
• Consumer
• Netherlands
• 3i
• Refinancing