Blackstone and Kirkbi buy Armacell from Charterhouse

unquote" understands that the exit delivered 3x money on invested capital and a 54% IRR for Charterhouse, valuing Armacell at €960m (10x 2015 EBITDA). The deal is expected to close in Q1 2016, pending regulatory approvals.

Blackstone plans to grow the business organically and through acquisitions following the deal.

Charterhouse stated that during its ownership, new facilities were opened in India and Russia, with plans to open new premises in China and expand in Japan.

In 2015, Armacell acquired OneFlex, a Turkish insulation manufacturer, and Industrial Thermo Polymers, a Canadian manufacturer of polyethylene insulation.

Armacell's EBITDA increased from €60m in 2012 to a forecast €95m in 2015.

Previous funding
Charterhouse acquired Armacell from Investcorp in a €500m secondary buyout in April 2013. BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and HSBC reportedly provided a €350m covenant-light senior and second-lien debt package for the deal, equivalent to around 5x EBITDA.

In 2007, Investcorp acquired Armacell in a €400m SBO that saw CVC Capital Partners and Hilde Investment Management fully exit the company. The original buyout of Armacell by Investcorp was backed by a €320m mezzanine and senior debt package from BNP Paribas and CIBC World Markets.

Prior to this, CVC and Gilde backed the €304m management buyout of Armacell in 2000. The business was originally the insulation products branch of Armstrong World Industries - then known as Armaflex. The company was renamed Armacell Enterprise GmbH following the spin-off.

Company
Founded in 1954 in Munster and now headquartered in Luxembourg, Armacell produces insulation and engineered foams. Its regional headquarters are located in Germany, North Carolina and Singapore. The company operates 23 manufacturing plants and employs 2,600 people.

People
Patrick Mathieu, who has been CEO since 2012, will continue to lead Armacell. Lionel Assant is head of European private equity at Blackstone. Thomas Lau Schleicher is senior vice president of long-term equity and private equity at Kirkbi.

Advisor
Equity - Lazard (Corporate finance); HSBC (Corporate finance).
Vendor - Rothschild (Corporate finance); Hengeler Mueller (Legal).
Company - Sycomore Corporate Finance (Corporate finance); Scotto & Associés (Legal).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Industrials
• Exits
• DACH
• Secondary buyout
• Germany