Omnes divests Melkonian in SBO

Ellie Pullen
17 February 2014

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Omnes Capital has sold Melkonian Group, a French provider of mining equipment, to BPI France, Amundi Private Equity Funds and Sofipaca.

Shares in the company were also sold back to Melkonian's founding family - Geneviève, Marc and Christophe Melkonian - who now collectively own an 82% stake in the group.

Omnes acquired its minority stake in Melkonian in October 2008 as part of an owner buyout. The company's founding family retained a significant majority stake as part of the transaction, according to unquote" data.

During its time as a shareholder in the group, Omnes saw the company's turnover increase by more than 60% since 2008. The company also bolstered its sales workforce by more than 50% between 2008-2012.

Melkonian also opened new subsidiaries in western African countries Niger and Burkina-Faso.

Debt
A senior debt package was provided by Crédit Agricole Alpes-Provence.

Company
Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, Melkonian provides equipment for the mining and underground works industry.

The group has four subsidiaries: machine and spare part seller Aramine; underground mine machinery manufacturer Aramine Loaders; kinematic components producer Aramine Components; and lifting and handling machines services provider Engins Griffet.

The company employs 117 staff and claims that 97% of its turnover is generated through exports, thanks to a strong market presence in both Africa and South America.

People
Geneviève, Marc and Christophe Melkonian are the co-presidents of Melkonian. Omnes director Benjamin Arm and associate Rémy Deloffre worked on the sale.

Investment director Emmanuelle Gervais, Alexis Guinard, Caroline Lebel, Marc Atanian worked on the deal for BPI France, while associate director Alexandre Flageul represented Amundi and investment director Michel Pourcelot represented Sofipaca.

Advisers
Equity - Pinot de Villechenon & Associés, Gilles Roux, Martin Kyuchukov-Roglev (Legal, tax, social due diligence); PwC, Florence Valentin (Financial due diligence); LEK, Serge Hovsepian, Frédéric Dessertine, Bénédicte Guénégan (Strategic due diligence).
Vendor - Bureau Francis Lefebvre, Alexandre Delhaye (Legal).
Debt - Fidal, Christophe Duberry (Legal).