Ardian to acquire Prosol

Company founder and hitherto majority shareholder Denis Dumont will reinvest in the group alongside Ardian. The management team, led by managing director Hervé Vallat, will also hold a share.

According to Ardian, Prosol has recorded a steady growth over the last few years, having opened between 15-25 new locations per year. The group currently manages a group of 185 branches, and claims to be making more than €1bn in revenues.

The transaction was supported by a senior debt package provided by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Natixis Partners and BNP Paribas.

An agreement for the takeover has been signed and the transaction should be completed soon. Ardian was not available for comment at the time of writing.

Previous funding
According to unquote" data, in March 2016, Sagard and Siparex emerged as the winners of a competitive process to lead a shareholder restructuring of Prosol. The deal involved the partial sale of a minority stake held by Abénex Capital and Five Arrows in the business, and allowed founder Denis Dumont to increase his majority stake. Sagard and Siparex invested alongside Abénex, Eurazeo and Five Arrows. The auction process was led by Natixis. The full value of the 35% stake that was originally up for a straight sale had been set at €100m in press reports, unquote" reported at the time.

Abénex previously acquired a minority stake in Prosol in 2011 for an undisclosed amount, alongside French group HPL, investing via its Abénex IV fund. In 2003, 3i also contributed to a €14m round of funding to support the group's expansion.

Company
Founded in 1992 by Denis Dumont, Prosol specialises in the distribution of fruit, vegetables, dairy products, fish and meat products. The group is more widely known under its trading names Grand Frais, Cerise and Potiron, and owns a network of 185 shops across France.

Based in Chaponnay, France, the group claims to be generating more than €1bn in revenues at present.

People
Ardian – Mathieu Antonini (managing director mid-cap buyout); Nicolas Darnaud, Alexandra Goltsova (senior investment managers); Manon Massoni (analyst); Daniel Setton (director).

Advisers
Equity – CA-CIB, Pietro Sibille, Stéphane Barret, Laura Mendez Rodriguez (corporate finance); DLA Piper, Michel Frieh, Julia Elkael, Arnaud Lafarge, Guillaume Valois, Emilie Renaud, Edouars Sarrazin, Fayrouze Masmi-Dazi (legal, tax); Latham & Watkins, Xavier Farde, Lionel Dechmann (legal); Siaci (insurance due diligence); Roland Berger, Olivier de Panafieu (commercial due diligence); 8 Advisory, Christian Berling (financial due diligence).
Company – Natixis Partners, Jean-Baptiste Marchand, Benjamin Giner, Thomas d’Espois (corporate finance); Ayache Salama, Bernard Ayache, Sandrine Benaroya, David Ayache (legal); Ixa, Sylvain Lagneaux (legal); LL Berg, Nathalie Jacquart (legal).
Debt – Gide Loyrette Nouel, Eric Cartier-Million (legal).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• France
• Consumer
• Exits
• Secondary buyout
• France
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)
• Eurazeo
• 3i