
Ardian arranges €275m unitranche facility for Flexitallic SBO
Ardian (formerly Axa Private Equity) has arranged a €275m multi-currency unitranche facility to finance the €450m buyout of Flexitallic by Bridgepoint, in what marks the first investment for Ardian's Private Debt Fund III vehicle.
Aridan is understood to be currently raising Private Debt III, aiming for a €2bn final close. The vehicle is believed to have reached a first close this summer.
Bridgepoint acquired Paris-based sealing solutions business Flexitallic from Eurazeo PME for €450m back in May. Eurazeo reaped cash proceeds of €145m from the sale, with a capital gain of €95m. The exit returned a multiple of 2.9x the GP's original investment and a 28% IRR over a period of more than six years.
Following this latest transaction, Ardian will have invested more than €1bn in unitranche in the past two years. The GP notably arranged a €220m unitranche facility for the secondary buyout of industrial supplies distribution company IPH by PAI partners at the end of last year.
Flexitallic manufactures sealing solutions and products for the energy production sector and the oil, gas, chemical and petrochemical industries in emerging markets and developed countries.
The business has operations in the US, Canada, China, France, the UK, the UAE and Kazakhstan, with a network of 750 specialist distributors.
Flexitallic was established in 2004 and is mainly based in Paris, the US and Canada.
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