Omnes carves out three Geoxia subsidiaries

Alice Tchernookova
27 July 2017

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Omnes Capital has completed the spin-off of three subsidiaries of LBO France portfolio company Geoxia.

The three subsidiaries are Maisons Clairlande, Les Demeures de la Côte d'Argent and Rouquié Constructions. Acting as the main investor in the transaction, Omnes Capital was joined by GSO Capital and BPI France.

The three brands will now be regrouped under a new structure named InCa, with a combined €38m turnover in 2016. Omnes Capital will be the majority shareholder, while management (led by CEO Rémi Fromaget and managing director Lionel Husson) retains a 10% stake.

Omnes invested through its small-cap funds LCL PME Expansion 2 and LCL Expansion 2. The former closed on €72m in 2015 and invests in businesses with an enterprise value of €10-25m with tickets of €2-8m. The latter has an investment capacity of €40m and invests in businesses valued up to €25m.

Omnes said it would support InCa in three key areas: organic growth with the opening of new agencies in the Aquitaine region; a digital transition for the group; and a targeted external acquisitions strategy, with a €5m acquisition line put in place for around 15 planned bolt-ons.

The company targets a €70m turnover within four years.

Debt
A senior debt package was provided by LCL and Crédit Agricole Aquitaine, alongside mezzanine debt from Idinvest Partners.

Previous funding
In 2009, LBO France became the majority shareholder of Geoxia after injecting the company with fresh equity as part of a restructuring deal. A minority stake was held by Roland Germain, the company's CEO, as well as 59 managers. NI Partners and Initiative & Finance, two Natixis subsidiaries that supported the original LBO, relinquished their equity. The deal was said to value the company at more than €100m.

In 2006, the CEO and management team bought an 80% stake in the business, with NI Partners and Initiative & Finance holding the remaining 20%. The deal was valued at €250-300m.

Company
Founded in 1946, Geoxia builds family housing. The three brands carved out from Geoxia specialise in the construction of single-design detached homes. Based around Bordeaux and focusing on the Aquitaine region, InCa generated revenues of €38m in 2016, having sold 500 homes.

People
Omnes Capital - Frédéric Mimoun (investment director); Antoine Joris (associate).
Grand Sud-Ouest Capital - Frank Stéphan (CEO); Stéphane Morange (investment director).
BPI France - Romain Fourcade (investment director); Soudanka Bentaleb (investment manager).

Advisers
Equity - Oderis Consulting, Thomas Claverie (financial due diligence); Katalyse, Jerôme Taieb (commercial due diligence); Exeis, Antoine Vallee (IT due diligence); Verspieren, Herve Duquesnoy (insurance due diligence); Indefi, Emmanuel Parmentier (environmental due diligence); CW Associés, Julien Boucaud-Maître (environmental due diligence); LL Berg, Olivier Abergel, Gaëlle Quillivic (legal); Cabinet Luchtenberg, Jérémie Swiecznik (legal).
Vendor - Case Corporate Finance, Damien Segond, Alexis Befeno (corporate finance); Mayer Brown, Xavier Jaspar, Emily Pennec (legal).
Company - PwC Société d'Avocats, Suzie Maillot (legal).