Arkea Capital and SGCP buy 20% of Piriou

Investment holding Jaccar will retain a 20% stake in the business – it stated the divestment after a seven-year holding period was the result of its normal portfolio management cycle. Piriou's management team will retain the remaining 60% of the shares.

Arkea typically invests €1-10m per transaction while SGCP's usual equity ticket sits in the €300,000-10m range.

The deal is believed to have been structured as a leveraged MBO, with an approximately equal debt-to-equity ratio. French GP Argos Soditic was at some point considering investing in the buyout, a source close to the situation told unquote".

Previous funding
Axa Private Equity and Jaccar each bought a 40% stake in Piriou in 2006, with management retaining the balance.

In 2009, Piriou's management team bought out Axa PE's share, leaving Jaccar with a 45% stake in the business.

Piriou has seen its turnover grow from €76m to €122m since the original 2006 buyout.

Company
Founded in 1965, Piriou is a ship builder and repairer based in Concarneau, Brittany. The group is present in Europe, Africa and Asia through eight subsidiaries and employs close to 1,000 staff, including 350 in France.

People
Hervé Moreau led the deal for SGCP. Arkea was represented by Marc Brière. Pascal Piriou is CEO of Piriou.

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