Chequers Capital carves out EBC from Econocom

Unquote reported in March that the company had entered exclusive negotiations with the GP for the sale of its subsidiary.

Chequers is currently investing via Chequers Capital XVII, which closed on €1.1bn in May 2017. The fund targets majority stakes in European mid-market companies valued at €80-350m, with typical equity investments of €40-120m.

According to Unquote sister publication Debtwire, BlackRock provided unitranche financing to back Chequers' acquisition of EBC. The unitranche amounted to almost €50m, which equates to around 4x EBC's 2019 EBITDA of €12m.

This divestment is part of Econocom's strategy of refocusing its operations on its core business, announced and initiated in 2019.  The group recently sold its business applications subsidiary Rayonnance to Apax France. Apax acquired a majority stake, while the company's management team, led by Arnaud Affergan, reinvested alongside the GP and retained a minority.

Company
EBC comprises Econocom's maintenance operations in France and employs around 440 people across 27 sites. It generated revenues of €86m in 2019.

Econocom was established in 1973 and is headquartered in Paris. The company specialises in digitalisation consultancy, focusing on IT infrastructure, business services and project financing. The group employs 10,800 staff and has a presence in 18 countries. It  generated EBITDA of €180m from revenues of €3bn in 2019.

People
Econocom – Jean-Louis Bouchard (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Neovian Partners (financial due diligence); Hogan Lovells (legal); Clearwater International (corporate finance).
Company – Rothschild & Co (corporate finance); Archers (legal); Eight Advisory (financial due diligence).

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