CIC LBO Partners finalises Alti stake

Following a takeover bid, holding Financiere Alti has acquired 87.99% of Alti. CIC LBO Partners owns 51.5% of Financiere Alti, while the remaining 48.5% is held by the company's founders and staff. The holding was mainly leveraged with mezzanine. Financiere Alti acquired 51.17% of the company in July 2007 and launched a takeover bid for the remaining shares at a unitary price of EUR33, meaning a market capitalisation of approximately EUR74m.

Later, CIC LBO Partners will transfer its shares in Financiere Alti to a new holding, in which IDI will also invest. This holding will be controlled by CIC LBO Partners, with more than two-thirds of the capital. The company's governance will not be modified by this agreement.

Alti provides a range of IT engineering services generating revenues of EUR65m in 2006, with net profits of EUR3m. The company employs 900 staff in France, Belgium and the US. Clients are mainly from the banking and insurance sectors.

Bridgepoint eyes Afflelou delisting

More than a year-and-a-half after purchasing a block of 61.1% in Euronext-listed opticians chain Alain Afflelou, Bridgepoint has managed to acquire enough shares to delist the business.

The buyout house's original take-private attempt had been blocked by hedge funds, and in early 2007 Bridgepoint had resigned itself to managing a publicly-listed company and adjusted the business' financing and strategy accordingly. But in spring 2007, these hedge funds approached the private equity firm to initiate discussions relating to an eventual sale of their shares.

Bridgepoint opted to mandate Houlihan Lokey, the investment bank which negotiated with hedge funds on behalf of Cinven-backed Camaieu. The negotiations accelerated in the summer, possibly spurred by the credit crisis and a need for liquidity from the hedge funds involved.

Bridgepoint paid EUR42 per share for this latest block, increasing its ownership from 82% to 96.06% of the company's shares. The firm has now expressed its intention to remove the company from the stock exchange.

In 1997, Alpha Associes Conseil, together with a syndicate of investors, acquired 70% of Alain Afflelou in a first buyout. The syndicate generated a 2.5x money multiple in 2000, when the company was sold back to founder Alain Afflelou (58%) and Apax Partners SA (42%). Apax then floated the company on the Second Marche in 2002, before selling its shares to Bridgepoint in April 2006.

SGAM creates bonds recovery fund

Societe Generale Asset Management (SGAM) has created a vehicle which aims to 'take advantage of the opportunities that have arisen in the liquidity crisis'. SGAM Invest Bonds Recovery 2007, which aims to attract a range of institutional investors, will invest mainly in securitisation vehicles such as asset-backed securities and CLOs.

"Our innovative and opportunistic fund will help sophisticated investors capture liquidity premiums from the currently attractive pricing levels of securities," explains Guy Lodewyckx of SGAM.

Lodewyckx anticipates clear signs of an improving context in the coming months, although results in the banking sector could keep volatility high.

Proskauer Rose takes over boutique for French launch

US Law firm Proskauer Rose has entered the French private equity landscape by taking over Schmidt Gicqueau Dumas Mull-Jochen (SGDM). SGDM's founding partners Daniel Schmidt and Olivier Dumas have been appointed partners of the US firm's global private investment funds group. The other members of the five-lawyer SGDM are corporate associates Mireille Mull-Jochen and Arielle Allini and tax associate Estelle Piazza.

The move will reportedly enable significant expertise and client synergies between Proskauer Rose's US offices and the newly-established Paris and London teams. Proskauer Rose will look to increase its presence in both fund formation and transactions, where the firm will look to work on small- to mid-cap venture, growth capital and LBO deals.

SGDM provided legal advice on venture deals, but specialised in fund formation. The firm provided advice for funds such as Alven Capital, Partech International, Cinven, Quilvest, EPF Partners, Innovacom, I-Source Gestion, Finadvance, Pechel Industries, Capenergie, Matignon Investissement et Gestion, Emertec and China Equity Links.

Schmidt has served as the president of the code of ethics committee of French private equity trade body AFIC, has been a member of EVCA's tax and legal committee for four years, and served as AFIC's representative to the country's finance ministry. Dumas has been a member of AFIC's code of ethics committee for four years.

PPM Capital breaks away from Prudential

Insurance giant Prudential has sold its private equity arm, PPM Capital, to management following protracted negotiations. The firm, which manages a portfolio of 12 companies across Europe (including one in France - Histoire d'Or), will continue to invest in buyouts of businesses worth between EUR75-500m.

PPM Capital has in excess of EUR2bn of funds under management and is the latest in a long line of private equity subsidiaries to gain independence from parent financial companies. Previous spin-outs include Montagu from HSBC, Bridgepoint from NatWest and Phoenix from Credit Suisse.

Apart from French jewellery chain Histoire d'Or, which was acquired in 2006, PPM's portfolio includes Paramount Restaurants, comprising the Chez Gerard and Caffe Uno restaurant chains, Azzurri Communications, the voice and data communications consultancy, and Orizon, a German temporary work agency.

Although there is no fixed allocation of equity for each office, the Paris branch, which has five investment professionals led by Jen-Lou Rihon, intends to make approximately one new investment per year. Other offices are located in London, Munich and Chicago.

Private equity-backed TDF wins Media & Broadcast

French terrestrial broadcaster TDF has acquired Deutsche Telekom's Media & Broadcast division, for a total consideration of EUR850m. The acquirer, which is backed by Texas Pacific Group (TPG), AXA Private Equity and Charterhouse, won an auction which attracted bidders including The Macquarie Group. The company's financial backers provided new equity, with values proportional to their current ownership in TDF (TPG 42%, Axa 18%, Charterhouse 14%). A pool of banks underwrote a debt package to support this leveraged build-up deal, which is due to be completed in early 2008.

Media & Broadcast designs and runs terrestrial and digital broadcasting networks, generating EUR526m in 2006. The newly-merged group anticipates total revenues of EUR1.6bn in 2007 (half of which will be generated outside France), and employs more than 5,000 employees in eight countries.

Office moves

Matignon Investissement & Gestion has moved to

1 rue de la Faisanderie,

75116 Paris.

Telephone and fax details remain unchanged.

Quartus Gestion has moved to

28 rue de Berri,

75008 Paris.

Telephone and fax details remain unchanged.

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