Charterhouse buys Sagemcom from Carlyle

Katharina Semke
03 October 2016

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Charterhouse Capital Partners has acquired Sagemcom, a French manufacturer of network equipment and television set-top boxes, from the Carlyle Group.

As part of the tertiary buyout, the management team continues to hold a minority stake.

Charterhouse aims to extend the company's share of the broadband and energy markets, via customised smart devices for telecoms and utilities.

Under Carlyle's ownership, Sagemcom refocused on its core broadband and energy business, according to the GP. The business also increased its international exposure in the Americas.

The deal marks the second investment by Charterhouse Fund X, which held its first close at €1.5bn. It follows the acquisition of Cooper, a French over-the-counter drugs company, in October last year.

Previous funding
In 2011, Carlyle acquired a majority stake in Sagemcom from US private equity firm The Gores Group for around $500m. Debt was provided by Societe Generale, Crédit du Nord, CIC, Banque Palatine, BNP Paribas and BRED. Leverage stood at around 2.5x Sagemcom's €70m EBITDA.

Gores backed the spinout of Sagemcom, then known as Sagem Communications, from its parent corporation Safran in 2008, in a deal that valued the business at €383m.

Company
Founded in 1924 and based in Rueil-Malmaison, Sagemcom is a producer of communicating terminals such as set-top boxes, internet routers and multimedia terminals. The company employs 4,000 staff in 40 countries and has revenues of €1.2bn.

People
Carlyle Europe Partners – Jonathan Zafrani (managing director).
Charterhouse Capital Partners – Fabrice Georget (partner).
Sagemcom – Patrick Sevian (CEO).