Perceva Capital recapitalises Shark

The French private equity firm invested through its first vehicle, France Special Situations Fund I, which closed on €150m at the beginning of 2011. This is the fund's third investment to date.

Perceva Capital is now the sole shareholder in the business. AtriA Capital Partenaires led the buyout of Shark in 2005 and was looking to divest its stake through a replacement capital operation. It introduced Perceva Capital to the deal directly.

The new owner stated that Shark fits its investment strategy given its size, market position, focus on innovation and international dimension. The fresh capital structure will allow the company to step up investments in its product range, with the upcoming introduction of two new models. Shark will also look to expand its market share outside of France, first in neighbouring countries and later on a larger scale.

Debt
Perceva Capital did not require any senior debt to leverage its investment.

Company
Shark was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in Marseille. The firm manufactures motorbike helmets and has been commercialising its own line of products since 1992. It generates 60% of its turnover outside of France and sells its products in more than 35 countries.

Shark employs 670 people and posted a €30m turnover in 2010.

People
Xavier Lépine led the deal for Perceva Capital. Patrick Bertiaux represented AtriA Capital Partenaires. Patrick François is chairman of Shark.

Advisers
Equity – Veil Jourde, Pierre-François Veil, Géraud Saint Guilhem, Sylvain Clérambourg, Anne Guillemin, Christophe Delrieu (Legal); Ernst & Young, Guillaume Cornu, Améziane Abdat, Etienne Morlier, Anne-Elisabeth Combes, Tahé Bando-Delaunay, Lionel Benant, Matthieu Autret (Financial due diligence, Tax).
Vendor – Ayache Salama & Associés, Bernard Ayache, Marie-Christine Combes (Legal).
Company – Brémond & Associés, Guilhem Brémond, Hélène Carpentier (Legal).

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• Topics
• France
• Expansion
• Consumer
• Exits
• France
• Recapitalisation
• Ernst & Young