PAI buys Albéa from Sun European

Oscar Geen
02 January 2018

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PAI Partners has acquired French beauty packaging business Albéa from Sun European Partners for an undisclosed sum.

The business was marketed at almost $190m EBITDA for 2017 and achieved an enterprise value of just less than 8.5x, according to a source close to the situation.

The sale comes a year after an auction led by strategic bidder RPC collapsed in the final round due to disputes about price, according to unquote" sister publication Mergermarket.

Sun European secured a partial realisation two months later, taking a €150m payment from a $816m dividend recapitalisation arranged by BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Crédit Agricole and HSBC. The allocation priced at 400 basis points over Euribor for the euro tranche and between 375-400 over Libor for the dollar tranche, according to a report by unquote" sister publication Debtwire. The report added that leverage was expected to rise to 4.6x as a result of the deal.

Under the GP's ownership, Albéa has seen an 80% increase in profitability, corresponding to a 600 basis point profit margin uptick. Sun European attributes this to continuous improvement in procurement and other operating initiatives.

Previous funding
Sun European acquired Albéa for an enterprise value of approximately €100m in July 2010. The GP drew equity from its $6bn 2007-vintage buyout fund, Sun Capital Partners V.

Company
Albéa is a beauty and personal care packaging manufacturer headquartered in Paris. It operates in 60 countries and employs 15,000 people at its 38 facilities. It mainly services the makeup, fragrance, skincare and oral care market with its offering of plastic and laminate tubes, plastic closures & shells, spray-caps, lids, cosmetic accessories and other cosmetic containers.

People
Sun European Partners – Jerome Nomme (managing director).
PAI Partners – Laurent Rivoire (partner).
Albéa – François Luscan (CEO).