HIG to take over Estro

Ellie Pullen
07 July 2014

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HIG Capital is set to acquire a 75% stake in Dutch childcare centre operator Estro Group, to rescue the company from falling into bankruptcy.

HIG is acquiring 250 of the current 360 centres run by Estro; these centres will then be relaunched under the new name of Small Steps next month.

According to Estro, around 1,000 jobs are likely to be cut, while the remaining 2,600 are guaranteed. The company was declared bankrupt on the morning of Saturday 5 July. Estro had applied for court protection last week, according to Dutch media.

The two parties have filed the request with the Netherlands' Authority for Consumers & Markets, which will finalise the acquisition within four weeks.

Previous funding
HIG's credit arm, Bayside Capital, acquired 75% of Estro with KKR in February last year as part of the company's restructuring. At the time, the company operated 600 centres and employed 5,800 staff, but 400 jobs were then cut.

US firm Providence Equity Partners had bought the business in 2010, when the company operated under the name Catalpa. According to unquote" data, an all-senior debt package said to be worth €280m was provided by ING, Lloyds and Societe Generale.

The deal provided an exit for Bencis Capital Partners, which had acquired the business from Waterland Private Equity in August 2006. Van Lanschot Bankiers provided senior and mezzanine financing to support Bencis's acquisition, according to unquote" data.

Waterland had provided Catalpa with €7m in December 2001, in exchange for a 50% shareholding.

Company
Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Amersfoort, Estro currently runs 360 daycare centres for children.

The company operates under the brands Catalpa Childcare, Elan Childcare, Kiddy World, uk, B4KIDS, Octopus, Astrid Lindgren Childcare and Kinderopvang Compagnie.

Following the relaunch, the company will continue to provide services for more than 26,000 children – around 85% of its current customer base.

People
Jean-Pierre Bienfait is the CEO of Estro. Paul Canning is a managing director at HIG.