
Qualium and BPI France to invest in EM Lyon
Qualium Investissement and BPI France have entered exclusive negotiations to acquire minority stakes in Makers Group, the holding company of French business school EM Lyon, from CCI Lyon Métropole Saint-Etienne Roanne.
The deal would take place via a capital increase of €100m over the next five years, financing the group's development projects.
Qualium and BPI will together own a substantial minority, with Qualium maintaining a larger stake than BPI France, Unquote understands.
Former parent company CCI Lyon Métropole will retain 43% of the business, while employees will invest in a 10% stake, according to French publication Capital Finance.
Qualium Investissement, a spinout from Caisse des Dépôt, is currently investing via its second fund Qualium II. The fund aims to make majority buyouts, injecting between €20-75m of equity in European small and medium-sized companies valued between €40-250m. The fund has been backed by state-owned former parent company Caisse des Dépôts and other French and foreign institutional investors.
The terms of the transaction stipulate that CCI Lyon Métropole has the right, but not the obligation, to sell the remaining shares after 10 years.
Qualium has declined to comment on the transaction while BPI France was not available for comment at the time of publication.
Company
With origins dating back to 1872, EM Lyon is a higher education institution based in Lyon, running undergraduate and postgraduate courses in business, via the Emlyon business school. The institution hosts 7,250 students across six campuses in France, China, Morocco and India.
EM Lyon generated revenues of €100m in 2018, posting a €12.4m EBITDA, Capital Finance reported.
People
CCI Lyon Métropole Saint-Etienne Roanne – Emmanuel Imberton (president).
Emlyon Business School – Tawhid Chtioui (general director).
Qualium Investissement – Jean Eichenlaub (president).
Advisers
Vendor – Natixis Partners (corporate finance); Shearman & Sterling (legal); EY (legal).
Equity – PwC Transaction Services, Martin Naquet-Radiguet, Mohamed Sadok Hizem, Alexandre Lopes, Benjamin Surly (financial due diligence); PwC Société d’Avocats, Fabien Radisic, Jérémie Schwarzenberg, Mathieu Echallier (financial due diligence); Jérôme Gertler, Claire Pascal-Oury, Claudio Carvalho Victer, Olesya Monegier du Sorbier (legal); Bernard Borrely, Sophie Desvallées, Mohamed Triaki (ESG due diligence).
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