Cobepa buys Scalian in SBO

Cobepa paid a little over €200m for the business, according to the Beglian publication De Tijd.

Andera sold its stake acquired via Winch Capital 3, though it reinvested in the business via Winch Capital 4, closed in December last year on €445m.

The auction process saw the business marketed based on an EBITDA of around €20m, according to several press reports.

During the sale process arranged by Natixis Partners, private equity firms Naxicap Partners and LBO France, as well as Qualium and CM-CIC Investissement who teamed up for the auction, eyed the asset and made it in to the second round, according to French publication Capital Finance.

Previous funding
Andera first acquired a majority stake in the buy-in management buyout of Scalian in 2015. In Q1 2018, the GP acquired the remaining 33% stake that it did not already own, via Winch Capital 3. The stake was acquired from the company's founder, Daniel Benchimol.

A statement by Andera said the MBI transaction in 2015 saw Yvan Chabanne become the new president of the company and previous managers Jean-Charles De Borda, Stéphane Garo, Christophe Reybert and Jean-Manuel Silva acquire stakes in the business, alongside 30 employees. Andera stated this arrangement of the capital structure helped the development of a new entrepreneurial culture in the company. 

Under the GP's ownership, the business bolted on two companies, Alyotech in 2016 and CMT+ in 2017.

Debt financing was arranged with LGT and Idinvest in mid-2017 via a refinancing operation, according to the French publication Capital Finance.

The company's turnover increased from €69m in 2015 to €220m currently, and its staff from 950 to 2,600. 

Company
Scalian, founded in 1998 under the name Eurogiciel, offers consultancy on the digital systems and operations performance of companies in the fields of aeronautics and defence, telecommunications, energy and transport.

Based in Toulouse, it generates a €220m turnover and employs 2,600 people in France, Germany, the UK, Belgium, Spain, Canada, the US, Morocco and India.

People
Scalian – Yvan Chabanne (president); David Capdapspe (CFO); Jean-Manuel Silva (general secretary); Jean-Charles de Borda, Stéphane Garo (chief operating officer); Christope Reybert (managing director); Caroline Nancy (head of human resources).
Andera Partners – Antoine Le Bourgeois, Laurent Tourtois (partners).
Copeba – Charles-Henri Chaliac (member of the executive committee); Aurélien Delavallee (senior director); Alexander de Luca (principal); Lars Lapp (senior associate); Romain Boulanger (associate).

Advisers
Company – Squire Patton Boggs, Charles Fabry, Aymeric Malphettes (legal); Volt & Associés, Stéphane Letranchant (legal, financial due diligence); Eight Advisory, Stéphane Vanbergue, Ghislain de Robien, Mathilde Dussaillant, Antoine Wemaere (financial due diligence); Roland Berger, Jean-Michel Cagin (commercial due diligence).
Management – Avocats Scotto Partners, Isabelle Cheradame, Jérôme Commercon, Franck Vacher, Xavier Colard, Martine Leroux, Diane Rufenacht, Bertrand Thibaut (legal).
Equity – Avocat Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Florent Mazeron, Stéphanie Corbiere, Vincent Daniel-Mayeur (legal).

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