Argos-backed Factum buys AGL Services

Alessia Argentieri
25 March 2020

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French technical equipment rental business Factum Group, a portfolio company of private equity firm Argos Wityu, has acquired car rental specialist AGL Services.

Unquote understands that the deal was financed with an injection of new equity from Argos's seventh fund, Euroknights VII, as well as with debt from existing facilities.

Argos acquired Factum in a tertiary buyout from Naxicap Partners in June 2018, drawing capital from its €520m seventh fund. The transaction ended an 11-year holding period for Naxicap, which backed the company's secondary buyout from Perfectis Private Equity.

Based in Nancy, Factum rents IT, medical and industrial equipment. It employs 170 staff and generated revenues of nearly €165m in 2019.

In addition to its core IT equipment focus, Factum has been operating in the long-term car leasing market since the launch of its motor subsidiary in 2012, which currently manages a fleet of professional vehicles worth €45m.

With the add-on of AGL, the group plans to further strengthen its position in the automotive fleet management market, and expand its offering and client base.

This acquisition is part of Factum's aggregation strategy and follows two bolt-ons inked in January 2019: the acquisition of Les Artisans du Mobile, a specialist in supplying, renting and repairing mobile phones for corporations; and the purchase of Nodixia, an expert in recovering, repackaging and reselling consumer electronics.

Company
Established in 1990 and headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, AGL offers long-term (18-60 months) car rental, as well as additional services like vehicle maintenance, repair and renewal. The company manages a fleet of 3,000 vehicles and generates annual revenues of €21m.

People
Argos Wityu – Karel Kroupa (managing partner).
Factum Group – Arnaud Deymier (CEO).
AGL Services – Alexandre Kiatibian (CEO).

Advisers
Acquirers – August Debouzy (legal); PwC (financial due diligence); Arsene (tax); Degroof Petercam (corporate finance).
Vendors – CMS Francis Lefebvre (legal, tax); Luc Moreau (legal); Crédit du Nord (corporate finance).