BNP Paribas partially exits Nexeya to Hensoldt

Hensoldt will acquire Nexeya's testing and integration arm, and its services business, as well as major parts of its mission management and power conversion businesses. 

Via the acquisition, Hensoldt will strengthen its industrial base, particularly in France, improving customer access and enhancing its product portfolio.

The space activities of Nexeya, as well as certain defence activities, are not part of the transaction, they will be retained by the current shareholders, namely BNP Paribas Développement and Nexeya's management.

Hensoldt is a defence and security electronics specialist. Headquartered in Munich, the company operates civilian and military sensor products and develops new products to counter evolving threats. With a workforce of 4,400 employees, Hensoldt generates revenues of €1bn.

Hensoldt is currently owned by KKR. The private equity firm bought the defence electronics unit of Airbus Group for €1.1bn in 2016, which subsequently rebranded to Hensoldt. The company has since then made some acquisitions, buying for instance EuroAvionics and Kelvin Hughes from PE firms Equistone and ECI Partners respectively in 2017.

Previous funding
Activa acquired a 57.9% stake in Euronext-listed Nexeya alongside BPI France in July 2013. Their offer valued the company at €47.8m, according to Unquote Data. Nexeya was delisted the following year.

During the Activa-BPI France ownership, Carlyle-backed group Cap Vert Finance acquired the Nexeya Services division, which specialised in computer maintenance – including network, server, storage and back-up services.

Activa and BPI sold their stakes in the business to management and new backers BNP Paribas and Capzanine in 2017. Nexeya's management held 75% of the shares, while Capzanine and BNP Paribas held minority stakes.

Between 2013-2017, Nexeya's turnover rose from €129m to €132m. Its workforce was scaled back from 1,200 to 900.

Company
Founded in 1982 and based in Chatenay, Nexeya is a provider of electronics for defence and commercial customers.

The business designs, manufactures, integrates and enables specialised products and services for the areas of test and integration products, space systems, mission management systems, power conversion and customer support. With around 815 employees, Nexeya generated revenues of €128m.

The acquired activities represent a turnover of around €95m and a workforce of approximately 620 employees.

People
Hensoldt – Thomas Müller (CEO).

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