21 Centrale buys Cleor off Azulis

Greg Gille
03 August 2012

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21 Centrale Partners has taken a majority stake in the management buyout of French jewellery retailer Cleor.

Ealier press reports valued the business in the €50–60m range. Cleor was previously backed by Azulis Capital and BNP Paribas Développement – both firms first invested in the company in 2007. Azulis fully exited the business, while BNP Paribas Développement reinvested to hold a minority stake in the new structure.

21 Centrale is currently investing from its fourth fund, which closed on €380m in March 2011. This is the vehicle's sixth investment to date.

Cleor will now look to expand its geographical reach in France and develop internationally. it is aiming for a network of 100 stores in the coming months, up from 77 today.

Debt
LCL, Arkéa, Bred, CIC, Crédit Agricole Normandie and Société Générale provided a senior debt package to fund the acquisition. Capzanine contributed mezzanine financing.

Previous funding
Azulis Capital (then Banexi Capital Partenaires) acquired a significant minority stake in Cleor through its fund Middle Market Fund III in 2007, alongside BNP Paribas Développement. Azulis injected a further €3m in late 2010.

Turnover has grown from €17m at the time of the 2007 investment to a current €50m. The jeweller's network more than doubled in the meantime.

Company
Established in 1996, Cleor operates a network of 77 jewellers located in shopping centres across France. The company generates a €50m turnover.

People
Cedric Abitbol, Caroline Giral and Muriel Prudent worked on the deal for 21 Centrale Partners. BNP Paribas Développement was represented by Yannick Carre. Gilles Bennejean is the founder and CEO of Cleor.

Advisers
Equity – Leonardo, Éric Toulemonde, Philippe Charbonnier (Corporate finance); CMS bureau Francis Lefebvre, Philippe Rosenpick (Legal); KPMG, Axel Rebaudieres, Jack Rupchandani (Financial due diligence); Ernst & Young, Jean-Christophe Sabourin (Financial due diligence).
Company – Mayer Brown, Xavier Jaspar, Alexandre Dejardin, Laurent Borey (Legal).
Debt – Gide Loyrette Nouel, Chucri Joseph Serhal (Legal).
Mezzanine – SJ Berwin, Olivier Vermeulen (Legal).