Ardian buys AD Education

Greg Gille
18 December 2020

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Ardian has secured a majority stake in higher education platform AD Education alongside management.

AD Education president Kevin Guenegan previously owned a majority stake in the business, while Cathay Capital and BPI France joined as minority investors in 2016.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported back in early November that Ardian, BC Partners and CVC were among suitors mulling a bid for AD Education as the auction kicked off, citing sources familiar with the situation. Bridgepoint and Belgian family office Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille (CNP) were also tipped as intending to take part in the auction.

Sell-side adviser Lazard was marketing the asset off EBITDA in the region of €29-39m, with the company potentially fetching an enterprise value in excess of 15x EBITDA, the report noted.

According to S&P Global, Ardian ended up pre-empting a formal process.

Ardian stated it would aim to support AD Education in its continued organic and acquisitive growth strategy, as well as its internationalisation efforts.

Company
Created in 1990 and based in Paris, AD Education owns higher education institutions. The group has 15,000 students across 12 schools, including several in Italy, Germany and Spain. Its focus covers design & graphic arts, media & digital, audiovisual and culture & luxury items.

People
Ardian - Emmanuel Miquel, Nicolas Trani, Jean-Baptiste Hunaut, Anouk Daoudal.

Advisers
Equity - Centerview Partners, Nicolas Constant, Pierre Pasqual, Matthieu Sommier, Cassandre Devoir (M&A); Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Eduardo Fernandez, Gil Kiener, Louis Jambu-Merlin (legal); Latham & Watkins, Xavier Farde, Carla-Sophie Imperadeiro, Olivia Rauch-Ravisé, Clémence Morel (legal); EY Parthenon, Guéric Jacquet, Anna Grotberg (commercial due diligence); KPMG, Guilhem Maguin, Grégoire Didier (financial due diligence); Sophie Fournier-Dedoyard (tax).
Vendors - Lazard Frères, Charles Andrez, Jean-Philippe Bescond, Razika Abchiche (M&A); Eurvad Finance, Charles Guigan (M&A); Gowling WLG, Patrick Mousset (legal); BCG, Benjamin Entraygues, Guillaume Darrieus (commercial due diligence); Alvarez & Marsal, Frédéric Steiner (financial due diligence); Arsène Taxand, Alexandre Rocchi (tax).