Private equity backers sell further 10% Rexel stake for €500m

Investors in the company include Eurazeo, Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity (MLGPE).

The consortium of backers sold 28.1 million shares through its holding company, Ray Investment, equating to an approximate stake of 10%. In February, the group sold 40 million shares for a total of €640m.

Listed investor Eurazeo realised €85m through the partial exit and saw its stake in Rexel reduced from 12.7% to 10.9%. The sale in February saw Eurazeo's shareholding fall from 17.9% to 12.7%.

Rexel was acquired by its private equity backers in a €1.9bn buyout in March 2005. The deal was led by US firm CD&R, which took a 36.5% stake. Eurazeo acquired an interest of 35.6% in Rexel, alongside the 25.7% shareholding taken by MLGPE.

At the time, the company had an enterprise value of €3.8bn, with total equity shares worth €2.6bn, and was partially listed on the Paris stock exchange. The CD&R-led group of investors took on the Pinault Group's 73.45% interest in Rexel and made a compulsory offer to acquire the remaining company shares to take Rexel private.

Rexel then floated on the Paris Stock Exchange in 2007. Its IPO valued the business at €4.2bn and saw backers Axa Private Equity and North Cove Partners (formerly BAML Capital Partners) fully exit the company, according to unquote" data.

Company
Founded in 1967 and originally named Compagnie de Distribution de Matériel Electrique (CDME), Rexel distributes electrical equipment to professional customers in the commercial, residential and industrial sectors.

Headquartered in Paris, the company operates in 37 countries, with 2,300 branches and 31,000 staff. Its revenue for 2012 was €13.4bn with an EBITA margin of 5.7%.

People
Rudy Provoost is Rexel's CEO as well as chairman of the management board.

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• Topics
• Exits
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• Partial sale
• France
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• Clayton Dubilier & Rice