Groupama edges closer to PE arm disposal

Greg Gille
@unquotenews
03 January 2013

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French insurer Groupama has sold an 82% stake in the two funds managed by its private equity arm Acto Capital.

Groupama sold the stake to investment company Luxempart and secondaries specialist Five Arrows Managers, which invested via its third fund. The remaining 18% will remain in the hands of French institutional investors.

The Acto and Acto Capital II FCPR vehicles look after a combined €200m worth of assets under management. Acto usually invests €5-15m per transaction, targeting French businesses valued in the €20-50m range.

The two funds will still be managed by the Acto team through a new management company. Acto Capital is currently part of Groupama Private Equity, which also includes mezzanine provider ActoMezz and fund-of-funds Quartilium.

The team is currently looking to start raising a third fund in 2013 once the spin-off is complete. Luxempart will sponsor the new vehicle - including this planned commitment, Luxempart will invest a total of €60m in the Acto funds.

Groupama announced that it was looking to divest its private equity business at the beginning of 2012. The troubled French insurer plans to boost its capital base and restructure after it was hit by the fallout of the sovereign debt crisis.