Secondary buyouts: up and down again

Secondary buyouts reached a peak in 2007, when they exceeded trade sales in Europe by value (though by volume there were more trade sales; see EVCA report, page 13). Unsurprisingly, the trend came to an abrupt halt in the summer, when the onset of the credit crunch hit. The slow down continued into this year, with anecdotal evidence suggesting it will remain the case throughout 2008.

The situation in Benelux is slightly different, with trade sales lagging behind secondary buyouts: more than 10 secondary buyouts worth more than EUR2bn were made, against six trade sales for EUR1.2bn. The situation continues into this year, with nine trade sales already on the cards, including the $1.1bn sale of InterGen by AIG Capital Highstar to Indian GMR Infrastructure. In contrast, Benelux has clocked up only five secondary buyouts.

This month has seen a number of both deal types: GIMV-, NPM- and Sofinim-backed Arcomet returned to its founders, who were backed by Sofina and NIBC (providing mezzanine). Separately, Fortis sold Sandd back to Trimoteur - from whom they'd bought the stake two years previously. There where also three trade sales: InterGen, 3i sold ABX Logistics to Nordic company DSV, while AAC and ACP completed their exit from Sdu Identification by selling it to Safran.

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