IDI sells Emeraude to management, BPI

Ellie Pullen
19 December 2014

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IDI has sold its stake in Emeraude International, a French distributor of commodity plastics, to the company’s management, BPI France and Acto Mezz.

IDI has exited the business via the holding Emeraude Partners.

BPI has acquired a minority stake in Emeraude, while Acto Mezz is an existing mezzanine investor in the company.

Previous funding
IDI acquired Emeraude in January 2012 from CM-CIC LBO Partners (now LBO Partners). The firm invested alongside Yann Bucaille, the company's existing shareholder and its president, as well as other members of the management team.

IDI invested €20m in equity and was accompanied in the deal by Acto Mezz, which upped its overall investment in the company to €15m, having already provided €7m at the time of LBO Partners' buyout in 2007.

Senior debt facilities for the deal were rolled over from the previous transaction. The sale generated an IRR of 28% on LBO Partners' investment, according to unquote" data.

LBO Partners had acquired a majority stake in Emeraude in July 2007, following a Lincoln International-run auction process aimed exclusively at private equity firms, according to unquote" data.

Acto Mezz provided the €7m mezzanine facility, while BNP Paribas and Banque Palatine led a lender syndicate in the underwriting of a two-tranche senior debt package. The syndicate comprised BNP, Palatine, Societe Generale, LCL, Fortis, CIC and NSM-ABN Amro (now Banque Neuflize OBC).

Company
Founded in 1986, Emeraude is headquartered in Paris with nine additional offices located worldwide, including in Warsaw, Johannesburg and Shanghai.

The company distributes commodity plastics, namely polyethylene, polypropylene and other polyolefins, to plastic and textile manufacturers.

Emeraude exports to 60 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Indian sub continent and south-east Asia.

The company employs 70 staff and generated revenues of €400m last year. At the time of IDI's investment, the company recorded around €300m in turnover.

People
Yann Bucaille is the president of Emeraude. IDI deputy directors Marco de Alfaro and Julien Bentz, as well as director Alexis Garand-Clavel, worked on the exit for the firm.

Advisers
Vendor – Mayer Brown, Olivier Aubouin, Marie Pouget (Legal).