Carlyle-backed Comdata buys Izium from IK Investment Partners

Amedeo Goria
09 June 2017

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Comdata Group, backed by The Carlyle Group, has fully acquired France-based Izium Group from IK Investment Partners.

The deal saw Comdata acquire the four companies in the portfolio of Izium Group: B2S, an outsourcing CRM services provider with a €170m turnover; IT services provider BCust; CRM consulting operator Colorado Conseil; and B2B debt collection business CMS. Izium's founder and majority shareholder, Maxime Didier, fully exited his stake in the business, as did minority shareholder IK.

The acquisition was financed via debt and equity. The former consisted in a €400m facility provided by an undisclosed consortium of international banks and alternative lenders, according to a source familiar with the matter. Didier also acquired an 11% stake in Comdata.

As part of the deal, Didier will become the second largest shareholder in Comdata. Furthermore, Carlyle will retain its 82% stake in the business, while Comdata's chair, Enrico Saraval, will own a 6.5% stake. The management team will retain the remaining shares, the source said.

In December 2015, Carlyle acquired a majority stake in Comdata via its Carlyle Europe Partners IV fund, following a hotly contested auction process run by Rothschild. Other parties lined up for the acquisition were PAI Partners and Apax Partners. Press reports at the time valued the deal at around €300m. According to unquote" sister publication Debtwire, a club of seven banks including Banca Intesa, BNP Paribas, BPM, Crédit Agricole, Natixis, Societe Generale and Unicredit provided a debt package of €210m to support the deal.

Following the transaction, the business bolted on several competitors, including Digitex, Win Bilgi Iletisim and Overtop Group, expanding its activities across Europe and Latin America. According to a statement, the group expects to post €750m in sales in 2017.

Previous funding
Windhurst Participations acquired a 75% stake in B2S in 2009, with previous backer Ixen selling its 40% stake. Windhurst supplied B2S with a €3.4m capital increase.

In January 2012, Windhurst fully exited the business when Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners backed an OBO of the group via its Winch Capital 2 fund, acquiring around 40% of the company's capital.

In June 2016, IK acquired a minority stake in Izium Group – formerly known as B2S Group – via its IK Small Cap I Fund. Rothschild also reinvested in the company. IK became the second largest investor in the group. Maxime Didier, the group's founder and CEO, remained the majority shareholder.

Company
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Paris, Izium manages a portfolio of four companies operating in the customer experience services sectors, which include consulting, telesales, customer services, debt collection and technical assistance.

The group operates 14 contact centres, of which 10 are in France, three in Morocco and one in Madagascar. In 2016, it generated €180m in revenues and employed 6,000 people.

People
IK Investment Partners – Pierre Gallix (partner); Caroline Le Hen (associate).
Izium Group – Maxime Didier (founder, chair).
Comdata Group – Massimo Canturi (CEO).