Pamplona sells further 33% of OGF to Teachers' Private Capital

Following the transaction, the holding of Teachers' Private Capital – the private equity arm of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) – will reach 74%, while Pamplona and the OGF management team retain 20% and 6% respectively.

Pamplona, which first acquired the group in 2013, had already sold a 41% stake to OTPP in the second half of 2015. Since 2013, OGF has invested in excess of €300m in both internal development and external acquisitions, according to the GP.

The current transaction has been fully approved and was effective as of 12 April 2017, Pamplona said in a statement. Philippe Lerouge, who has been OGF's president and CEO for the last 16 years, is staying in his position.

Earlier this year, unquote" reported on OGF's planned €1bn refinancing as part of OTPP's takeover. OTPP then said it was aiming to secure a majority stake in the funeral services group. According to Moody's and S&P ratings, the proposed cov-loose package would include a €960m senior secured term loan B maturing in March 2023 and a €60m senior secured revolving credit facility. The transaction would raise leverage by €310m, resulting in a leverage ratio in excess of 6x. The package would allow for a dividend recap of €332m to be distributed to shareholders.

According to unquote" data, OGF is likely to be valued beyond the €1bn mark in the current deal, marking another mega-buyout within the French market, following PAI's sale of pharma group Cerba Healthcare for around €1.8bn in January.

Previous funding
According to unquote" data, the 2015 buyout by OTPP was already the fourth seen for the business since 2004. The company was first carved out from US corporate Service Corporation International by Vestar Capital Partners. The GP secured a 65% stake, while OGF's management and employees co-invested to hold 10%.

The funerary service, valued at around €300m in the 2004 buyout, was worth €780m when French buyout house Astorg Partners acquired it from Vestar three years later. The SBO, sealed in August 2007, saw Astorg draw equity from its €800m fourth fund – management and employees were again given a chance to co-invest. After six years of ownership, Astorg offloaded its majority stake in OGF to Pamplona. The deal, announced in July 2013, was understood to value OGF at €900m, €635m of which came via a debt facility arranged by JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

Company
Founded in 1844, OGF provides funerary services, crematorium management and funeral monuments. Headquartered in Paris, the business operates under the PFG, Roblot and Henri de Borniol brands, and several local entities grouped under the Dignité Funéraire name.

The group has a national network of 1,100 branches, 550 funeral homes and 72 crematoria. Its turnover hit a record €625m in March 2017, the company said in a statement, while Moody's estimated its EBITDA at €145m last year.

People
Pamplona Capital Management – Markus Noé-Nordberg (partner).
Teachers' Private Capital – Jean-Charles Douin (director – EMEA)

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• Topics
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• Pamplona Capital Management
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• Secondary buyout