PAI Partners to acquire Asmodee in €1.2bn deal

The acquisition of Asmodee is the first investment made by PAI Europe VII, which reached a final close at €5.1bn, its hard-cap, in March.

The vehicle acquires controlling stakes in businesses with enterprise values of €300m-2bn, with the sweet spot being just less than €1bn. The vehicle provides equity tickets in the €100–400m range.

The deal valuation of €1.2bn mentioned in press reports is broadly correct, Unquote understands.

Including the latest 2018 acquisitions, the business is expecting to post an EBITDA of around €100m by year end, a person familiar with the situation disclosed to Unquote. 

Moreover, Unquote understands the investment generated a 4x money multiple for Eurazeo, yielding a 35% IRR. 

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported that the auction saw Ares Management, BC Partners and a consortium comprising CVC Long Term Fund and Kirkbi (the investment company of the Kirk Kristiansen family) take part in the final round. Financiers were pitching debt packages of up to 6.5x its €80m EBITDA, according to the publication.  

Under Eurazeo's ownership, Asmodee completed several acquisitions across Europe. In H1 2018 the group bolted-on polish company Rebel, an own-brand and third party board games and hobby products specialist; and Lookout, a Germany-based board and card game business.

PAI plans to further continue Asmodee's international expansion via organic growth and acquisitions.

Previous funding
Montefiore Investment bought Asmodee in a secondary buyout from Naxicap Partners in January 2008. The firm acquired a 60% stake in the company as part of a deal with management worth €40-50m.

Five years later, Eurazeo acquired Asmodee from Montefiore for an enterprise value of €143m.

At the time of the deal, Eurazeo agreed to supply approximately €102m in the transaction, while Asmodee's management and founders reinvested €13m. Later, European Capital led a €65m refinancing, including debt and equity, alongside Tikehau Investment Management. 

Eurazeo's initial investment in Asmodee was made via the GP's balance sheet, rather than with capital drawn from a fund, Unquote understands.

Company
Founded in 1995 and based in Guyancourt, Asmodee is a games publisher and distributor, with operations located in Europe, North America and China. Asmodee generated a turnover of €442m in 2017, 75% of which was made outside France.

Asmodee publishes or distributes on behalf of key publishing partner brands including Catan, Ticket to Ride, Splendor, Dobble/Spot it!, Star Wars: X-Wing, 7 Wonders and Jungle Speed. In some European countries, Asmodee also distributes trading card games such as Pokemon, Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh!.

People
Asmodee Group – Stéphane Carville (CEO).
PAI Partners – Gaëlle d'Engremont (partner).

Advisers
Equity – DC Advisory, Eric Hamou (corporate finance); Clifford Chance, Fabrice Cohen, Thierry Arachtingi, Emmanuel Mimin (legal); PwC Transaction Services, Antoine Chaigne, Nicolas Veillepeau (financial due diligence); Strategy&, Anne-Lise Glauser, Achraf Madani (commercial due diligence); PwC Société d'Avocats, Xavier Etienne, Arielle Ohayon-Cohen (legal). 
Vendor – PwC Transaction Services, Arnaud Thibésart, Hatim Chraibi, Frédéric Chatillon, Martin Duberga, Elisabeth Preyer, Roland Allain-Dupré, Charlotte Barthet (financial due diligence); PwC Société d'Avocats, Fabien Radisic, Stanislas Bocquet (tax); Messier Maris (corporate finance); Goldman Sachs (corporate finance); Latham & Watkins, Thomas Forschbach, Alexander Benedetti, Alexandre Balat, Ambre Perrochaud, Ketzia Chetrite, Michel Houdayer, Aurélien Lorenzi, Emily Grimshaw, Romain Nairi, Frédéric Pradelles (legal); 
Strategy&, Edouard Bitton, Hector Boissier (IT due diligence).

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