Siparex, I&F et al. back Rondot SBO

Francesca Veronesi
03 January 2020

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French private equity firms Siparex, Initiative & Finance (I&F) and BPI France have acquired a 51% stake in Switzerland-based Rondot Group, a manufacturer of mechanical and electronic equipment for the glass manufacturing industry.

A source close to the situation confirmed to Unquote the size of the stake. I&F acquired 20% of Rondot.

Siparex has been an investor in Rondot since 2016. Previous backers Carvest and MBO Partenaires have exited the investment, Unquote understands.

Siparex typically uses its Siparex ETI 4 fund, which closed in 2017 on €350m and invests in French companies with revenues of €100-500m. The vehicle provides tickets of up to €30m, with the possibility of taking part in equity investments of up to €50m when co-investing. The GP is currently preparing to raise the fund's successor, Siparex ETI 5. This new fund has a €400-500m target and should close in the second half of 2020.

Siparex, I&F, Carvest and MBO Partenaires were not available for comment at the time of publication.

Previous funding
Rondot benefited from a co-investment made by Calixte (the growth capital investment arm of Crédit Agricole Centre-Est, itself a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Régions Investissement) and Sofimac Partners in 2012. The round of funding was completed by a €500,000 contribution from BPI France.

Four years later, Rondot was merged with competitor IS Engineering and the newco Rise Group, based in Switzerland, was created. Siparex, MBO Partenaires and Carvest invested in the newly created newco, while previous investor Sofimac fully exited the group. Carvest's participation represented around 10% of the overall ticket, a source close to the situation told Unquote at the time. Senior debt for the 2016 transaction was jointly provided by Crédit Agricole Centre-Est, CM-CIC and LCL.

Company
Founded in 1936, Rondot specialises in the design, manufacturing and marketing of mechanical and electronic engineering products for the hollow container glass industry. The group improves production lines used at every stage of the manufacturing process of glass bottles and containers. It generates a turnover of €40m, 90% of which comes from abroad. It employs 180 people, according to Les Echos. The newco Rise Group is based in Switzerland, in Zug.

People
Siparex – Pierre Bordeaux-Montrieux (managing director).