Initiative & Finance buys minority stake in Fermatic

The MBO saw Initiative & Finance acquire a significant minority stake in Fermatic, while the company's CEO Laurent Dehan became a majority shareholder alongside part of the management team.

The GP's investment fell within the firm's €2-15m standard equity ticket, a source close to the situation told unquote". Fermatic's enterprise value was not disclosed either, but it is believed to lie within the lower half of the GP's €5-50m target bracket.

According to the same source, the deal was initiated by Dehan. Having founded Fermatic in 2006, the CEO was previously a minority owner alongside a number of individual shareholders and sought to regain control of the business.

BNP Paribas Corporate Finance was mandated by the executive to set up an auction process for Fermatic, triggering bids from private equity houses, among other suitors. Last spring, Initiative & Finance was approached by the intermediary and negotiations ensued until a deal was sealed towards the end of 2015, the source added.

By welcoming in Fermatic's first ever private equity backer, Dehan hoped to secure capital for the company's build-up strategy. Having carried out a number of bolt-ons over the past few years, the business is currently eyeing further opportunities, unquote" understands.

The MBO represents the maiden deal for Initiative & Finance's second fund, which held a first and last €168m close last November, after seven months on the road. The oversubscribed fund is backed by BPI France, the European Investment Fund, Ardian and Idinvest, among other LPs.

Debt
The MBO was supported by a senior facility arranged by BNP Paribas, with debt coming from Caisse d'Epargne and Banque Populaire as well.

Company
Founded in 2006, Fermatic installs and maintains automatic gates, garage doors, road barriers and remote controls. Headquartered in Guitrancourt, near Paris, the business offers its services to corporates and social housing associations, and most recently posted close to €10m in turnover.

People
Initiative & Finance – Arnaud Mendelsohn (associate director); Camille Grosfilley (project manager).
Fermatic – Laurent Dehan (founder, CEO).

Advisers
Equity – EY, Arthur Wastyn,Ruben David, Emmanuel Picard (Financial due diligence); Lamartine Conseil, Charlotte Moreau, Sophie Brault, Florence Savouré, Philippe Barouch, Laura Smyrliadis (Legal, social due diligence).
Vendor – BNP Paribas Corporate Finance, Christine Benhamou (Corporate finance); Groupe Fiduciaire Fortuny, Sylvie Desmée (Legal).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Buyouts
• France
• Industrials
• France