Apax buys Ciprés Assurances from TA

Greg Gille
17 May 2017

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France-based Apax Partners has acquired a majority stake in the secondary buyout of French insurance broker Ciprés Assurances from TA Associates.

The transaction, which is expected to be finalised in July, will result in the exit of TA Associates, which had been the main shareholder since the company's first LBO at the end of September 2014. Management will also increase their stakes in Ciprés.

Apax raised €1bn for its latest buyout fund, Apax France IX, in March. The fund, which aims to complete a dozen investments, is already 23% deployed via three deals, all signed last year. In March, Apax made a binding offer to acquire network performance software developer InfoVista from American GP Thoma Bravo. In June, Apax completed the acquisition of Marlink, Airbus Group's commercial satellite communications business, in a deal that was first inked in December 2015. The GP also invested in Sandaya, an outdoor accommodation group active in France and Spain, in May.

Apax France IX targets high-growth businesses valued between €100-500m, with a focus on France, Benelux and Switzerland. Tickets will typically range from €50-200m per transaction, with co-investment possibilities for LPs.

Previous funding
TA Associates invested in Group Ciprés, a France-based insurance broker owned by Groupe Molitor, in 2014. TA's investment followed a period of three to four years of investigation by the GP into the industry, with the aim of identifying potential partnership opportunities.

At the time of TA's investment, turnover amounted to €37m – that figure reached €65m last year.

Company
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France, Ciprés is an insurance broker specialising in health, death and disability insurance products for SMEs and self-employed professionals. It generated a turnover of €65m in 2016.

People
Apax France – Monique Cohen (partner).
TA Associates – Patrick Sader (director).

Advisers
Equity – Lazard (M&A); EY (M&A, financial due diligence, tax); BCG (commercial due diligence); Linklaters (legal); Holman Fenwick Willan (legal).
Company – UBS (M&A); Deloitte (financial due diligence); Latham & Watkins (legal); Roland Berger (commercial due diligence).