Apax France buys AEB Group in SBO

The company's management will reinvest alongside Apax France.

The transaction saw AEB valued in the €200-300m range, a source familiar with the situation told Unquote.

Apax France IX, which closed on €1bn in March 2017, was the vehicle used for the transaction, Unquote understands. The vehicle backs businesses valued at up to €500m.

Apax France will help AEB Group in pursuing its international expansion, and accelerate growth via acquisitions.

Previous funding
Investindustrial acquired AEB in a management buyout from PM & Partners and Societe Generale in 2007.  

After eight years, US private investment firm SK Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in the business, while Investindustrial and the management team retained a minority stake.

To invest in the business, SK Capital drew capital from its $400m SK Capital Partners III vehicle. At the time, Italian publication Il Sole 24 Ore reported that Investindustrial's remaining stake was around 20%.

BNP Paribas's Italian branch and UniCredit provided a debt package to support the transaction.

Company
Founded in 1936, Brescia-headquartered AEB is a biotechnology and oenology company, operating around 600 proprietary products and specialty equipment, designed for the wine, beer, juice, cider and food industry.

AEB employs 300 people across 13 countries. The company has eight production units, four R&D laboratories and seven quality control laboratories globally. In 2017, the company generated revenues of nearly €100m.

People
AEB Group – Mario Tomasoni (CEO).
Apax Partners – Bertrand Pivin (partner); Francesco Revel-Sillamoni (head of Italy).
SK Capital – Aaron Davenport (managing director).

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