Permira acquires Exclusive Group in €1.3bn deal

Francesca Veronesi
13 April 2018

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Permira has bought a majority stake in French cybersecurity and cloud distributor Exclusive Group from Cobepa and Andera Partners.

The deal has a enterpise value of approximately €1.3bn, equating to around 14x EBITDA, Unquote understands.

The management team will maintain a significant equity stake and continue to lead the company.

Permira's equity for the investment came from buyout investment fund Permira VI, closed in January 2017 on €7.5bn. The fund provides equity tickets in the €250m-1bn range.

Debt for the trasaction amounts to around 6x EBITDA, according to a source close to the deal. The debt arrangement for the transaction is currently being finalised, though Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale have been confirmed as part of the syndicate, a source close to the deal disclosed.

The company completed between around 1-3 acquisitions a year in the past decade.

Previous funding
Andera (then Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners) initially backed the company in 2007, acquiring a 30% stake. At the time, the business had a turnover of €20m.

In 2010, Omnes Capital joined the capital structure, acquiring a majority stake, alongside Andera. The company generated a €150m turnover at the time.

Subsequently, Belgian GP Cobepa acquired a majority stake in the Exclusive Group in Q2 2015, while Omnes exited. Management retained 30% of the business, Andera 11%, and an additional investor the remainder. Andera used its Winch Capital 3 vehicle for the transaction.

The LBO was reasonably leveraged, a source familiar with the situation disclosed. The company posted sales of €650m at this stage.

Company
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Paris, Exclusive Group offers cybersecurity and cloud migration services. The company originally developed its activities by enabling US vendors to gain rapid access to the fragmented EMEA market. With 62 offices worldwide, Exclusive Group generates revenues of €1.27bn and employs 1,200 people.

People
Exclusive Group – Olivier Breittmayer (CEO); Philippe Sanchez (CFO).
Permira – Benoit Vauchy, Michail Zekkos (partners).