French private equity: 2010 in review

January

• AXA Private Equity acquired a 15% stake in vocational training services business Cegos Group. The deal was part of a management-led secondary buyout that valued the company in the €50-100m range. CIC arranged the debt package, which included BNP, LCL, Neuflize OBC, and Barclays.

February

• AXA Private Equity sold its 65.6% stake in Spotless, a cleaning products producer and distributor, to UK-based BC Partners for around €600m. The sale was completed after an auction process run by Lazard.
• BC Partners-backed care home specialist Medica floated on Paris Euronext, raising €275m. However, the target was not reached before the price was revised to €13 per share, down from the €16-19.5 range originally indicated following a drop in the markets.

March

• Cinven agreed an €800m deal to buy medical diagnostics company Sebia from Montagu Private Equity. Wanting to secure the deal as quickly as possible, Cinven funded it with an equity-only package. BNP Paribas, Citigroup and Commerzbank arranged a €340m debt package two months later.
• Astorg Partners sold French oil-field services firm Geoservices to Schlumberger. The deal valued the company at $1.07bn and Astorg's stake at €530m. The sale saw Astorg reap a 10x money multiple on its original investment.

April

• AGF Private Equity employees attempted to block the sale of the business, announced in March, by parent company Allianz to IDI. The staff filed proceedings to end the sales process at the Tribunal de Grande Instance (TDI) court.
• Natixis reached an agreement to sell iXEN Partners, NI Partners and Initiative & Finance Gestion, three of its private equity division, to AXA Private Equity for €534m with potential performance-led premiums.

May

• AXA Private Equity acquired a majority stake in GO Voyages, the French online travel site, in a deal that valued the company at €400m. Senior debt financing was provided by Société Générale, CIC Banque and HSBC. Mezzanine debt financing was supplied by Five Arrows Leasing Group. The overall debt package was reported to be worth €195m.

June

• PAI partners acquired a majority stake in French pharmaceutical company Cerba European Lab (CEL) from IK Investment Partners. The deal was reported to be worth around €500m.
• Deutsche Beteiligungs AG acquired a 79.6% stake in French category management group France Distribution Gestion from its founding families, an investment confirmed to be in the €50-100m range. The deal was notable for being a rare case of a family-owned business cross-border buyout.

July-August

• Lion Capital acquired frozen food retailer Picard Surgelés from BC Partners for €1.5bn. The €975m debt package, secured at a later date, comprised around €300m worth of unsecured bonds. This was France's largest buyout since June 2008.
• At the other end of the value scale, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, CDC Entreprises and Crédit Agricole Private Equity provided biopharma Poxel with a €16m investment. This was the largest series-A round of financing in France since 2005.

September

• Jean-Yves Demeunynck, chief of French private equity trade body AFIC, announced its decision to step down. Demeunynck's exit marked the third senior departure from a major European industry group in as many months.
• The Carlyle Group acquired French hotels chain B&B hotels from Eurazeo, in a deal that valued the company at around €480m. The exit allowed Eurazeo to reap a 2.1x return on its original investment, equating to a 22% IRR.

October

• Bridgepoint and Apax Partners acquired French jewellery retailers Histoire D'Or and Marc Orian from Silverfleet Capital and Qualium Investissement, in a deal that valued the new group at €600m. Silverfleet reaped a 3x return multiple and 27% IRR on its original investment in Histoire d'Or.
• Newcomer ISAI announced the second and final close of its internet venture fund ISAI Développement on €35m. The firm was set up by a pool of French Internet entrepreneurs, notably including PriceMinister founder Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet.

November-December

• PAI confirmed the upcoming start of the sale process of its 50% stake in yoghurt maker Yoplait. The firm, reportedly worth up to €1.5bn, has attracted considerable interest; Swiss food giant Nestlé is among the high-profile trade buyers said to be interested, with General Mills and Asian food groups also believed to be among the potential bidders.
• Goldman Sachs and Colony Capital withdrew their bids for French furniture retailer Conforama, according to media reports. The company, part of the luxury group PPR, is valued in the €1.5bn region. Bidders still circling Conforama reportedly include the Carlyle Group and South-African furniture producer Steinhoff International Holdings.

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