Cerea backs Icko Apiculture MBO

Cerea Partenaire secured a majority stake in the primary deal, with management reinvesting for a significant minority stake, Unquote understands. The GP invested via its Cerea Capital II fund, an agribusiness-focused vehicle that closed on €225m in early 2017 and usually deploys between €3-15m per deal.

Senior debt for the transaction was supplied by a banking pool including Crédit du Nord, BNP Paribas and LCL, alongside BNP Paribas's European SME Debt Fund.

Cerea highlighted a number of factors pointing at strategic opportunities for Icko. It said the number of beekeepers in France has been growing steadily again since 2007, after years of decline. This is driven by increasing consumption of healthy and natural food, a resurgence in do-it-yourself activity and the increase in ecological considerations.

The GP and management have identified several paths for growth, including consolidation opportunities (both vertical and horizontal) in a fragmented European market; international development with a focus on Italy, Spain, Germany, Northern Africa and the Middle East; and a push towards more innovation.

Company
Icko Apiculture specialises in the design, sourcing, manufacturing and marketing of beekeeping supplies and equipment for B2B and B2C clients. More than half of its sales are from proprietary brands including Combiz, Rucheco and Candimiel.

Icko has a network of six stores as well mail-order and e-commerce platforms. Its products are also carried by around 600 retailers. It employs 60 staff and generates revenues of €26m.

People
Cerea Partenaire – Gilles Sicard (managing director); Xavier Renault (director); Laurent Brossaud-Monty (associate).

Advisers
Equity – STC Partners, Delphine Bariani, Pierre Bouley, Alban Vaqué d'Anla, Antoine Fouassier, Céline Sol (legal); Grant Thornton, Sylvain Quagliaroli, Sophie Dervain (corporate finance); KPMG, Antoine Bernabeu, Damien Moron, Nicolas Pellet, Hubert Pol, Romain Crambert (financial due diligence); SKP Partners, David Vidal, Florin Istrate, Laura du Repaire (commercial due diligence); ERM, Julien Famy, Julie de Valence (ESG due diligence); Verspieren, Christian Picot (insurance due diligence); Kerius Finance, Sébastien Rouzaire, Maxime Dentroux, Solal Huard (hedging).
Vendor – UBS, Jérôme Breuneval, Julien Lafarge, Maxime Moreira (corporate finance); EY Société d'Avocats, Alex Larue, Clara Buonomo (legal); BIA Avocats, Roland Ickowicz (legal); EY, Emmanuel Picard, Stéphane Roubi, Guilhem de Montmarin, Samih Hajar, Antoine Leservoisier (financial due diligence).
Debt – De Pardieu, Christophe Gaillard, Thibaut Lechoux, Teksen Cenger (legal).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• France
• Consumer
• France
• Céréa Capital
• KPMG
• EY (Ernst & Young)
• Grant Thornton
• UBS