Blackstone to acquire JOA from Alchemy

Reports of the sale were published by unquote” sister publication Mergermarket. Alchemy, which became JOA’s majority shareholder in 2014, mandated DC Advisory to lead the process.

According to Mergermarket, Blackstone’s acquisition of JOA could be going hand in hand with the acquisition of Dutch casino business JVH, with the two groups potentially set for a merger.

Other bidders included CVC Capital Partners and a number of industrial groups, according to the same report. JOA’s enterprise value is rumoured to be around the €220m mark.

Last year, the casino operator’s revenues increased by 13% to reach €227m. With Blackstone’s support, JOA will look to continue growing its network across France, before considering a potential European expansion in future.

Both Blackstone and Alchemy declined to comment at this stage, however confirming that the sale process was ongoing.

Debt
According to unquote” sister publication Debtwire, the transaction is expected to be supported by a unitranche debt of around 4-4.5x the company’s €30m EBITDA.

Previous funding
In 2014, a consortium of investors led by Alchemy Partners acquired JOA. Other investors in the round included US-based institutional investor Davidson Kempner, as well as several banks including Bank of Ireland and Alcentra. The deal saw Alchemy take a 50% stake in the company, and marked the exit of previous investors Bridgepoint and Loto Québec. JOA underwent a debt restructuring the same year.

Bridgepoint acquired the casino conglomerate Moliflor Loisirs (rebranded as JOA Groupe in 2008) from Cobalt Capital and Royal Bank Private Equity (RBPE) in a tertiary buyout in 2006. According to unquote” data, the transaction valued JOA in the region of €460m. The €400m secondary buyout of Moliflor Loisirs supported by Cobalt and RBPE had occurred in 2002, enabling the exit of JOA’s first backer PPM Venture.

Company
Founded by Adrien Molinier in Canet-en-Roussillon in 1948, Groupe JOA is a French casino operator with 22 locations under management. Since 2010, the company has also been offering online gambling services. In 2013, it opened its first restaurant - Le Comptoir JOA - in Lyon.

Currently headquartered in Lyon, JOA generated €227m in revenues in 2016 with a €30m EBITDA.

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• Topics
• Exits
• Buyouts
• France
• Consumer
• France
• Blackstone Group
• Alchemy Partners LLP