Ardian to acquire Lagarrigue Group

As part of the deal, Lagarrigue's management will increase its stake in the business, while BNP Paribas, Galia Gestion, Ixo Private Equity and Acto Mezz will exit their stakes alongside Azulis.

Ardian said in a statement it sees opportunities in the fragmented orthopedic equipment market and hopes the business will further grow both in France and internationally.

This will be the third acquisition completed by Ardian Expansion Fund IV, which closed in June this year on €1bn. The first two were sterilisation business Ionisos and Diam, which creates, produces and installs branded point-of-sale displays. Both were made in July.

Previous funding
Azulis took an 80% stake in the secondary buyout of Lagarrigue from Ixo in May 2011. Azulis invested via its FCPR MMF IV vehicle, while Ixo divested its minority stake, making 2.5x its initial investment for a 38% IRR. However, it reinvested as a minority shareholder in the buyout alongside BNP Paribas Développement and Galia Gestion. CEO Alain Montean and three other members of the management team acquired the remainder of the shares.

Crédit Agricole and LCL arranged a senior debt package to fund the acquisition, understood to be worth around 30% of the enterprise value. Acto Mezz provided mezzanine financing.

In 2008, Ixo backed the OBO of Lagarrigue, investing from its FCPR Icso 2 and FIP Aquitaine Pyrénées Languedoc funds. Leverage represented around half of the undisclosed deal value.

Company
Lagarrigue specialises in the design and manufacturing of orthopedic equipment such as prosthetics and orthotics for patients suffering from permanent or temporary disability. Founded in 1976 and based in Toulouse, the business employs 400 people, with an expected turnover of €50m for 2016.

People
Ardian Expansion France – Marie Arnaud-Battandier (managing director).
Azulis Capital – Christine Mariette (partner).
Lagarrigue – Jean-Pierre Mahé (managing director).

Advisers
Equity – Natixis Partners, Philippe Charbonnier, François Rivalland (M&A); Ariane Santé, Agnès Robert, Thierry Boval (commercial due diligence); Weil Gotshal & Manges, Frédéric Cazals, Alexandra Stoicescu, Edouard de Lamy, Anne Guillabert, Frédéric Bosc (legal, tax, social due diligence); B&L Avocats, Anne-Laure Bénet, Victoire Potocki (legal, tax, social due diligence); 8 Advisory, Stéphane Vanbergue, Nadia Gacem, Guillaume Leullier (financial due diligence); Satec, Pierre Le Morzadec, Charles-Edouard Traeger (insurance due diligence).
Vendor – Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance, Christian Ménard, Sébastien Chabre, Sébastien Mitton, Grégory Fradelizi (M&A); Agilys, Pierre Jouglard, Carole Thain Navarro, Baptiste Bellone, Karine Violeau (legal, tax, social due diligence); Coteg & Azam, Pascal Rousset (legal, tax, social due diligence); Mazars, Catherine Prot, Amaury Dantressangle (M&A).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• France
• Healthcare
• France
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)