Carlyle revives USD 1.2bn Hunkemoller sale – report

JP Morgan will advise Carlyle on the potential transaction, Reuters reported, citing two sources close to the situation. No comments were forthcoming from Carlyle or JP Morgan, the report added.

The item noted that initial plans to sell the asset had been delayed by the pandemic. Hunkemoller reported EBITDA of EUR 40.6m last year, compared with EUR 75.5m in 2019 and with sales falling by 14% to EUR 459m.

Sales and EBITDA are expected to increase sharply this year, the report noted, on the back of a move towards online sales. The company is reportedly targeting EBITDA of EUR 85m-90m for 2021 and could change hands for 11-13x EBITDA, according to Reuters.

Talk of a potential sale started emerging in late 2020, with Bloomberg already reporting on the appointment of JP Morgan to explore options. The company was previously tipped as a potential IPO candidate around 2018, although this did not come to pass.

Buyout house PAI Partners, the owner of the Dutch lingerie retailer since a carve-out in 2011, sold the business to Carlyle for a 2.3x return in 2016. Carlyle deployed equity from its Carlyle Europe Partners IV fund; the deal came five months after the upper-mid-market vehicle closed on its EUR 3.75bn hard-cap. Press reports put the asset's EV at around the EUR 440m mark.

Founded in 1886, Hunkemoller is a high-street lingerie retailer. Headquartered in Hilversum, the business operates an 850-strong store network.

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