IDI buys Emeraude from CM-CIC LBO Partners

Greg Gille
05 January 2012

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Listed fund IDI has acquired French polymers distributor Emeraude International from CM-CIC LBO Partners, alongside management.

IDI invested €20m in the transaction, which didn't require any new debt funding. Existing mezzanine backer ActoMezz, which provided €7m in 2007, increased its overall investment to €15m. CM-CIC LBO Partners had been Emeraude's largest shareholder since 2007 – the sale allowed it to generate a 28% IRR on its investment.

Debt
Existing senior debt facilities were rolled over in the new structure.

Previous funding
Following a Lincoln-run auction aimed exclusively at private equity firms, CIC LBO Partners backed the leveraged buyout of Émeraude in 2007. BNP Paribas and Banque Palatine led a pool of banks including Société Générale, LCL, CIC, Fortis and NSM-ABN Amro in the underwriting of the two-tranche senior debt package. Acto Mezzanine provided a warranted mezzanine facility.

Under CM-CIC's ownership, the group saw its turnover grow from €168m to more than €300m.

Company
Founded 25 years ago, Emeraude International sources plastic raw materials from petrochemical companies worldwide, and distributes them across Europe, Asia and Africa. The Paris-based business employs around 50 staff and is also present in Dubai.

People
Marco de Alfaro, Julien Bentz, Alexis Garand-Clavel and Tatiana Nourissat represented IDI. Laurent Fichter, Xavier Buisson and Jean-Baptiste Bessières worked on the deal for ActoMezz. CM-CIC LBO Partners was represented by Bertrand Fesneau and Gontran Duchesne.

Advisers
Equity – Mayer Brown, Olivier Aubouin, Olivier Parawan (Legal, tax); Landwell, Alain Chedal (Legal, tax); PricewaterhouseCoopers, Eric Douheret (Financial due diligence).
Vendor – Salans, Olivier Genevois (Legal); Deloitte, Thierry Billac (Financial due diligence).
Management – Lincoln International, Ludovic Rodié (Corporate finance); Themès, Guillaume Lefebvre (Legal).
Mezzanine – De Pardieu Brocas Maffei, Jean-François Pourdieu (Legal).