Andera Partners et al. invest in Tournus Group

Alessia Argentieri
04 April 2019

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Andera Partners, Unigrains and BPI France have invested in French business Tournus Group, alongside the company's management, which increased its majority holding.

Previous backers MML Capital Partners and UI Gestion have both exited the investment, Unquote understands.

Andera, Unigrains and BPI France provided mezzanine and equity financing and acquired a combined 32% stake. Meanwhile, the company's management team, led by CEO Pierre Marcel, and the company's employees via FCPE Tournus increased their stakes in the business to around 68%.

Unquote understands that Andera invested around €15m in equity and mezzanine financing combined, while Unigrains and BPI France each invested €5m in equity.

Andera invested via its ActoMezz III fund, which closed on €315m in May 2017, while Caisse d'Epargne Bourgogne Franche Comté, Banques Populaires Bourgogne Franche Comté and Banque Populaire Rhône-Alpes provided senior debt.

The company intends to use the fresh capital to develop new products, increase its export growth and further expand internationally.

Previous funding
Qualium Investissement acquired Tournus in March 2010. LCL provided debt for the deal in form of A and B tranches of senior debt.

MML Capital Partners bought a stake in Tournus from Qualium as part of a secondary management buyout in 2013. The GP paid €10m in exchange for a 21% stake, leading a deal that saw minority partners BPI France and UI Gestion contribute. The company's management also reinvested in the deal. A debt package was provided for the deal by Caisse d'Épargne de Bourgogne Franche-Comté and Banque Populaire Loire et Lyonnais. UI Gestion and BPI France bought an additional stake of around 20%.

Company
Established in 1910, Tournus is a manufacturer of stainless steel professional kitchen equipment. The company employs 420 staff across France and the UK, and generated revenues of €70m in 2018, of which 40% came from outside France. The company's customer base includes school canteens, hospitals, penitentiary or long-term care clinics, private caterers, cafés, hotels and restaurants, as well as large retailers.

The group accelerated its international development with the acquisition of British company CED in 2016, which brought additional revenues of nearly €15m.

People
Unigrains – Romain Pinpernet (investment manager).
ActoMezz – Stéphane Bergez (partner).

Advisers
Equity – Eversheds-Sutherland (legal); McDermott Will & Emery (legal); Advance Capital (corporate finance); Next! Financial Advisors (corporate finance); D'Ornano & Associés (tax).