Silverfleet sells CCC to Ardian

Oscar Geen
21 November 2017

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Silverfleet Capital has sold Berlin-based business outsourcing company Competence Call Center Group (CCC) to Ardian.

Ardian previously owned the business between 2009-2013, when it sold to Silverfleet.

The GP drew capital from its €1bn vehicle, Ardian Expansion Fund IV, which held a final close in June 2016, in order to buy the business back.

The management team headed by Christian Legat, Ulf Herbrechter and Thomas Nemec will hold a significant stake in the new company and remain in their roles.

Silverfleet owned the business via Silverfleet Capital Partners, a €665m buyout fund that held a final close in April 2009. Financials were not disclosed but leverage was in the range of 4x the company's projected €21m EBITDA, according to a source close to the situation.

Under Silverfleet's ownership, CCC has expanded by opening eight new locations across Germany, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and Turkey. The number of employees has increased from 4,500 to 5,500 and EBITDA increased from €15m to €21m in the same period.

Ardian plans to support CCC's strategy of further strengthening its position in the German-speaking region.

Previous funding
Ardian (then Axa Private Equity) originally acquired two thirds of CCC's equity from its founder and CEO Thomas Kloibhofer in October 2009. It drew equity from its €353m buyout fund, Axa Expansion II.

Silverfleet bought the company from Ardian in December 2013. The transaction was backed by a €60m debt package arranged by Bank of Ireland and DZ Bank and had a debt ratio of less than 50%, according to unquote" data.

Company
CCC was founded in 1998 in Vienna, and now operates in 18 locations in eight countries. It handles incoming calls, outgoing campaigns, customer communication via e-mail, chat and social media, and back-office activities for a range of businesses. The company employs 5,500 people and is headquartered in Berlin.

People
Ardian – Dirk Wittneben (managing director).
Silverfleet Capital – Joachim Braun (partner).
Competence Call Center Group – Christian Legat (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Deloitte, Egon Saschsalber, Tanya Fehr (financial due diligence); EY-Parthenon, Oliver Runkel (commercial due diligence); Latham & Watkins, Burc Hesse (legal); Wilkie Farr & Gallagher, Jan Wilms (legal); Taxess, Gerald Thomas, Richard Schäfer (tax); Quarton International, Lars Veit (M&A); DC Advisory, Daniel Gebler (debt advisory).
Vendor – William Blair (corporate finance); Roland Berger (legal); Deloitte (financial due diligence); Kirkland & Ellis (legal); KPMG (financial due diligence).