Arkéa et al. back Children Worldwide Fashion in SBO

Arkéa led the transaction. Dzeta, which acquired a majority stake in CWF from Belgian group Artal in 2014, re-invested.

The latest change of hands of the business has allowed the management team, led by Freddy Mallet, to increase its stake in the company.

The sale, led by boutique corporate finance firm D&A Partners, has seen the business valued at around €120-130m, according to the French publication Capital Finance.  

The historical banking pool led by Hélia Conseil and including Caisse d'Epargne subsidiary Bretagne Pays de Loire and Aquitaine Poitou Charente, provided senior debt for the transaction.

Company
Founded in 1965 and based in Herbiers, CWF specialises in licensed, luxury and high-end children's fashion. The company manages a portfolio of nine licences of brands (Givenchy, Lanvin, Chloé, Boss, Zadig & Voltaire, Little Marc Jacobs, DKNY, Karl Lagerfeld and Timberland), as well as four owned brands (Charabia, Billieblush, Billybandit and Carrément Beau).

Present in 83 countries and with 2,500 points of sale, CWF achieved a net turnover of around €160m in 2018. It employs 800 people.

People
Children Worldwide Fashion – Freddy Mallet (CEO).
Arkéa Capital – Thomas Trideau, François Even (investment directors); Yohann Vimont (investment manager).
Raise Investissement – Mathieu Blanc (managing director); Maria Beloqui (investment director); Vincent Sauzay (associate).
Dzeta Private Equity – Claude Darmon (president); Grégoire Darmon (managing director); Philippe de Lestrange (director).

Advisers
Equity – Eight Advisory, Bertrand Perrette, Guillaume Catoire, Jean-Baptiste Blanco (financial due diligence); Indefi, Julien Berger, Nicolas Lamour, Adam Laissaoui (commercial due diligence); Hogan Lovells, Stéphane Huten, Arnaud Deparday, Sophie Han, Laurent Ragot, Alexander Premont, Luc Bontoux, Gaétan Dupin (legal).
Vendor – D&A Partners, Jean-Marc Dayan, Julien Skornik, François Dubourg (corporate finance); Cohen & Gresser, Muriel Goldberg-Darmon, Guillaume Guérin, Antoine Philippe (legal); Frieh & Associés, Emmanuel Scialom (legal); Stehlin & Associés, Armelle Maître (legal); EY, Jean-François Nadaud, Renaud Régnier (financial due diligence); Taj, Stéphane Chatelon, Benjamin Balensi, Simon Fournier, Philippe Lorant (legal).
Company – McDermott Will & Emery, Henri Pieyre de Mandiargues, Marie-Clémentine Marciel (legal).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Exits
• France
• Consumer
• France
• Secondary buyout