Omers' Trescal to hit auction block in H2 2022

Francesca Veronesi and Jou Yu
04 February 2022

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The French large-cap pipeline will have a new joiner as Omers is preparing to exit French calibration services specialist Trescal in H2 this year, four sources familiar with the matter said. The Canadian pension fund mandated DC advisory on the sale, two of the sources added.

The company generates EBITDA of around EUR 60m, the first two sources said, while the third and fourth sources suggested the figure was closer to EUR 70m. The deal could fetch a valuation of more than EUR 1bn, according to the first source.

Although Trescal's organic growth is relatively flat, the company is an M&A powerhouse, two of the sources said.

The expectation is for the auction to attract private equity buyers rather than trade bidders, three of the sources said.

"There isn't an obvious trade buyer which could bolt-on Trescal," the first source said.

"The business grows mainly through acquisitions and a sponsor is better suited to support Trescal's buy-and-build strategy," the second source said.

In fact, sponsors are already eyeing the asset ahead of the sale launch, two of the sources said. These include private equity firms Cobepa, Eurazeo and IK, according to the first source.

Omers acquired the business in 2018 from Ardian in a deal that valued the business at EUR 670m, as per a statement. At the time, a French press report estimated the company's EBITDA at EUR 45m. This implies an EBITDA multiple of almost 15x.

Given the high EBITDA multiple paid by Omers for the business, the seller's EV expectations are likely to be punchy, the third source added.

Under Omers' ownership, Trescal went on an M&A spree. In 2019, it bolted on Brazil-based Gero, Swiss MCS Laboratory AG, US-based Integrated Service Solutions (ISS) and Australia's Auscal. The following year it announced the acquisitions of Korea Testing Instruments Calibration Center (KTICC) in South Korea, IPAC Solutions in Australia, Instituto Amazonense de Metrologia (IAM) in Brazil and Physical Digital in the UK.

Trescal was created as a unit of Air Liquide in 1999 and became an independent business in 2007. Its certified technicians and experts carry out calibration and test services, inter-laboratory comparisons (ILC) as well as primary reference material (PRM) calibrations. Based in Paris, it has a presence in 26 countries and serves a vast array of industries, including aerospace & defence, life sciences, automotive & transport. It generates EUR 350m in sales and has 3,850 employees, according to its website.

Trescal, IK and Eurazeo declined to comment, DC advisory, Omers and Cobepa did not respond to a request for comment.