Weinberg sells Climater to Sagard

Sagard will hold a majority stake alongside management, and there will be no other investor, Sagard partner Antoine Ernoult-Dairaine told unquote".

A debt package is currently being discussed with two senior debt proposals on the table. The investment team will choose a debt package next week, Ernoult-Dairaine added.

The deal ends a six-year holding period for Weinberg, which acquired the firm in October 2011 from Industries & Finances Partenaires (IFP).

With the fresh capital, Climater intends to pursue market consolidation in France with further bolt-on acquisitions.

Previous funding
Climater was first acquired by IFP in June 2007. The firm began a buy-and-build strategy by securing a majority stake in the climate engineering group, formed via the merger of four family-owned companies.

After four years of ownership, IFP scored a 3.5x return when it sold its stake in the business to Weinberg Capital Partners and reinvested to retain approximately a 5% interest, according to unquote" data.

The SBO, finalised in October 2011, featured capital from fellow investors Grand Sud-Ouest Capital and Nord-Midi Pyrénées Développement, as well as 70 members of Climater's management team.

At the time, Climater stated it aimed to double its size within four to five years via a buy-and-build strategy.

Company
Established in 2007, Climater is an engineering group specialising in climate control services. It carries out plumbing, insulation and ventilation works for clients such as healthcare and industrial companies, distributors and public authorities.

Headquartered in Toulouse, the business employs 720 people across offices in south-west and south-east France, as well as in the Rhône-Alpes and Ile-de-France and Paris regions.

The company reported €130m in sales for its financial year 2017.

People
Weinberg Capital Partners – Serge Weinberg (chairman).
Sagard – Antoine Ernoult-Dairaine, Saik Paugam (partners).
Climater – Stéphane Gilet (CEO); Marc Trouchaud (managing director).

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• Topics
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• Weinberg Capital Partners
• Sagard Private Equity