Steadfast sells AVS Verkehrssicherung to Triton

Oscar Geen
29 November 2017

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Steadfast Capital has sold German road safety services provider AVS Verkehrssicherung to Triton Partners for an undisclosed value.

Steadfast made the divestment from its 2013-vintage buyout fund, which closed below its €250m target on €128m.

Triton drew equity for the investment from its €3.3bn vehicle, Triton Fund IV, which was approximately 70% invested in July 2017, according to unquote" data.

The GP was not available to comment on financing, but a source close to the situation told unquote" Triton was leaning towards traditional bank financing rather than unitranche.

All-senior leverage was expected to be in the 4.5-5x range with debt funds pitching up to 6x, according to unquote" sister publication Debtwire.

Under Steadfast's ownership AVS has almost tripled both its revenues and EBITDA, according to another source. In 2013 AVS reported €9m EBITDA from sales of €40m, and the latest 2017 numbers are €26.1m adjusted EBITDA from sales of €94m, the source added.

Steadfast is in the process of raising a new fund with a target of €250m and a hard-cap of €300m, according to the first source. It expects to hold a first close early in 2018.

Previous funding
Steadfast's investments from Fund III were capped at a €20m equity investment due to the vehicle closing under target. The GP would likely have invested the maximum amount in AVS when it acquired the company for an enterprise value of just less than €50m in November 2013.

Company
AVS provides traffic safety equipment and services, including planning, liaising with public authorities, and the rental and sale of traffic safety products. It also executes and controls safety assurance measures. Products include portable traffic light systems and mobile crash barriers.

The firm was founded by the Berghaus family in 1961 and is based in Kürten-Herweg, North Rhine-Westphalia. It employs 500 people.

People
Steadfast Capital – Marco Bernecker (managing partner).
Triton Partners – Nadia Meier-Kirner (adviser to funds).

Advisers
Vendor – Mayer Brown (legal); KPMG (financial due diligence); EY (tax); Oliver Wyman (commercial due diligence); Tauw (ESG due diligence).