Bridgepoint in running for 5àSec deal

Greg Gille
31 August 2017

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Bridgepoint is aiming to acquire French dry cleaning groupe 5àSec from its current private equity backers, unquote" understands.

A deal has not been formally secured yet, according to two sources close to the situation. Bridgepoint and existing backer Capzanine declined to comment at this stage, while current shareholder Rive Private Investment could not be reached for comment.

According to French publication Capital Finance, the potential deal would be made by the Bridgepoint Development Capital arm and could value 5àSec in the region of €50m.

The dry cleaning chain is no stranger to private equity ownership; should it go ahead, the transaction would mark the fifth change of hands in the space of two decades.

Most recently, Rive acquired 5aSèc as part of a recapitalisation in 2014. Rive injected €10m of fresh capital into 5aSèc alongside previous owners Parquest and Quilvest, which reinvested to retain an interest in the business. Other existing backers Capzanine and IFE Mezzanine, both of which provided mezzanine financing in the 2007 buyout by Parquest, also reinvested.

Parquest (then ING Parcom Private Equity) acquired 5aSèc in a tertiary buyout in July 2007. The deal is believed to have valued the company at around €60m, according to unquote" data, and saw Parquest buy a majority stake from Milestone Capital (formerly European Acquisition Capital). Societe Generale CIB, Barclays, Capzanine and IFE provided a debt package comprising senior and mezzanine facilities. At the time of the buyout, 5aSèc employed 6,000 staff and generated €250m in turnover.

Quilvest invested in the company in January of the following year, according to its website.

Milestone had acquired an 86% stake in the business in May 2001, buying the company from SPEF and BNP Développement, according to unquote" data. SPEF and BNP bought the business in 1998.

Founded in 1968 and controlled by a Paris-based holding, 5aSèc is a provider of dry cleaning services operating a number of own stores as well as a franchise. The group is now present across 30 countries worldwide. At the time of the 2014 recapitalisation, the company and its franchises generated around €300m in revenues.