CM-CIC acquires majority stake in Circet for €40m

The capital structure reshuffle, subject to the approval of the French competition regulator, is expected to be finalised in the summer. It will see CM-CIC secure a majority stake in the business while the company's management, investing alongside the GP, will remain as minority shareholders.

According to market sources, Circet will use the capital to finance the bolt-on acquisition strategy which it has followed for the past few years, especially in the second half of the 2000s.

As the telecommunications infrastructure market became more concentrated and Circet was faced with pricier add-ons, the business's need for capital increased. This drove the management to seek financial backers, unquote" understands.

The MBO marks the second foray of CM-CIC Investissement into the French telecommunications sector in the space of two weeks. Earlier in June, the GP joined BNP Paris Principal Investments and BNP Paribas in a €24m funding round for Paris-based connected objects distributor Innov8 Group.

Company
Established in 1993, Circet is a telecommunications company focused on the construction, operation and maintenance of fixed and mobile networks for operators, equipment suppliers and local authorities.

Headquartered in Sollies-Pont, France, the business employs more than 1,000 professionals across a network of 30 agencies in France and reported €225m in turnover in 2014. The figure reflects the company's growth via the acquisition of, among others, mobile telecoms infrastructure operator Camusat France in 2013.

People
Director Frédéric Plas, director of participations Nicolas Martineau and Olivier Martineau led the deal for CM-CIC Investissement. Circet was represented by co-founders Yves Vautrin and Philippe Lamazou, who is the company's current CEO.

Advisers
Equity - DC Advisory, Jean-Christophe Quiniou, Alexis Matheron (M&A); Grant Thornton, Thierry Dartus, Damien Moron (Financial due diligence); EY Transaction Services, Etienne Costes, Thibaud Chabrelie (Commercial due diligence); Paul Hastings, Olivier Deren, Pascal de Moidrey, Hadrien Schlumberger (Environmental & legal due diligence).
Vendor - DLA Piper, Xavier Norlain (Legal); 8 Advisory (Vendor due diligence); TAJ (Legal due diligence).

 

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