Activa-backed Armatis acquires Contact

According to Activa, the deal, for which no extra equity was injected, follows several months of negotiations and is the fourth acquisition completed by Armatis this year, in line with the GP's buy-and-build strategy. 

Previous acquisitions this year include Polish group Data Contact, as well as French companies Init and Yboo Consulting.

The merged groups will be regrouped under a new holding, Armatis Iberia, which together will count 24 sites and 10,000 staff members. Both groups will continue to operate under their original brand names and maintain their independent activity.

Armatis had already launched its activity in Portugual in 2012, in Porto, and hitherto had 600 staff members in the country.

Previous funding
Activa acquired a majority stake in Armatis in 2012 via a tertiary buyout from CM-CIC LBO Partners. Omnes Capital, CDC Entreprises, Ouest Croissance and Multicroissance were also part of the transaction. Activa invested from Activa Capital Fund II, a €315m FCPR vehicle closed in 2007.

The transaction took place as Armatis bought Laser Contact from BNP Paribas and Galeries Lafayette – a bolt-on that more than doubled the group's turnover to €200m. BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Banque Palatine, Crédit du Nord and BESV provided senior debt, while Idinvest contributed mezzanine and GE Capital provided factor financing.

Activa had already scouted the business at the time of the 2007 buyout by CM-CIC LBO Partners, which reaped a 2.8x multiple and 25% IRR upon exit, and stayed on as the group's second-largest shareholder.

In September 2007, CM-CIC LBO Partners led a consortium of investors backing the company's SBO and thereby acquired a majority stake. Armatis was then valued at around €70m. Other investors included CIC Investissement, Ouest Croissance, CM-CIC Capital Privé and IFE Conseil.

Company
Founded in 2000, Contact is a Portugal-based operator of on-shore call centres for customer services. The group currently employs 1,800 people spread across three sites in Lisbon, Caldas and Porto.

Founded in 1989, Armatis provides telesales and customer services in its call centres in the Paris, Nord Pas de Calais, Normandie and Centre regions. The group services clients in the telecoms, financial, energy and industrial sectors. The group employs 7,650 people across 19 sites in France, Portugal, Poland and Tunisia. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Armatis generates a €200m turnover.

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• Topics
• Portfolio management
• France
• Industrials
• Southern Europe
• CM-CIC Capital Finance
• France
• Activa Capital
• Credit Mutuel Equity (ex CM-CIC Investissement)
• Build-up