Bridgepoint et al. buy PE-backed Anaveo

José Rojo
08 January 2016

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Anaveo, a French electronic surveillance specialist backed by several private equity firms, has been sold to Bridgepoint Development Capital, BPI France and Paluel Marmont Capital.

Anaveo's enterprise value was not revealed but Bridgepoint typically targets companies in the €50-150m bracket – a source within one of the French acquirers told unquote" the actual figure lies closer to the lower end of that bracket.

The SBO saw BDC become Anaveo's majority owner via BDC II, a €350m, 2012-vintage vehicle that holds stakes in 10 other companies. The SME investor, present in France since setting up a Paris office in April 2010, did not disclose its equity ticket but it typically invests €10-75m per deal.

Meanwhile, Paluel, a minority shareholder alongside BPI France and the co-investing management team, drew equity from its second fund. The vehicle is now invested at around 50% after backing 10 companies.

Following the takeover, Paluel and BPI France will control similar stakes in Anaveo. Both French firms joined the talks for the asset after Bridgepoint kickstarted the negotiation process, unquote" understands.

Under the three firms' tenure, Anaveo will look to strengthen its foothold within the French electronic security segment. Having grown at a reported 25% per year since 2000, the business expects appetite for its services among retailers and is aiming to enter the €2bn-strong access control market.

Debt
The SBO was supported with a unitranche facility provided by Permira Debt Advisers.

Previous funding
The SBO marks an exit for CM-CIC, ACG and Garibaldi Participations. The first two had been shareholders in Anaveo since investing in the company in March 2014, while the latter was an existing backer that re-invested to stay on board.

Following the deal, each of the three firms secured a minority stake alongside the company's founder and majority owner Paul Surand; the transaction provided him with a way to buy out exiting GP Naxicap.

As part of the agreement, CM-CIC and ACG injected a respective €5m and €3.4m into the business to support its strategy to double revenues by 2019 via a series of bolt-ons.

Company
Founded in 1995, Anaveo provides video surveillance, security access control and intrusion detection services. Headquartered in Lyon, the company employs 250 staff across 11 agencies in France and has been present in China since a new unit was launched in the country in 2011. The business most recently posted €50m in turnover, generated for the most part from retail clients.

People
Bridgepoint – Olivier Nemsguern (France head).
Anaveo – Paul Surand (founder); Gregory Louis (chief executive).

Advisers
Equity – Mayer Brown (Legal); Rothschild (Debt advisory); Deloitte (Financial due diligence); LEK (Commercial due diligence); Taj (Legal, tax, social due diligence).
Company – Aelios Finance (M&A); Barbe & Associés (Legal).