Equistone exits Sogetrel to Quilvest and BPI France

Awaiting the go-ahead of French regulators, the SBO is expected to complete in early 2016.

According to an unquote" source, the deal will mean a full exit for Equistone, Sogetrel's management team and a group of minority owners including Ardian, Capzanine, CIG and Idinvest. However, the company's managers will re-invest to keep a minority stake, the same source added.

The communications network specialist will be bought by Quilvest Private Equity and state investor BPI France; the firms will become Sogetrel's majority and minority owner, respectively.

Sogetrel is aiming to continue the bolt-on strategy it has pursued over the past few years, with acquisitions under consideration within the fibre optics and communications segment.

Debt
BNP Paribas, LCL, CIC Est and Palatine provided a senior package in support of the SBO, while ActoMezz supplied a mezzanine facility, unquote" understands.

Previous funding
In February 2006, Equistone became a majority shareholder in Sogetrel when it bought the company from ABN Amro Capital France and BBS Capital. The deal valued the business around the €95m mark, according to unquote" data.

As part of the takeover, €45m and €25m were injected into Sogetrel in the form of senior and mezzanine debt, respectively. Along with Equistone's equity, the financing assisted the company as it bolted on peers ITA, TBF, Greselle and a fourth asset in 2015.

In June 2015, after Sogetrel renewed contracts with French telecoms giant Orange, Equistone mandated BNP Paribas to lead a sale process for the asset. From September onwards, both institutional investors and trade buyers were approached and non-binding offers were submitted a month later. In November, Quilvest emerged as the winning bidder, putting an end to the process.

Company
Established in 1985, Sogetrel provides communication network installation and system integration services to corporates and public clients such as local authorities. Headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, the business employs a combined 2,200 staff across 40 facilities in France, Belgium and Switzerland, and recorded €250m in revenues in 2015.

People
Quilvest Private Equity – Thomas Vatier (partner).
BPI France – Nicolas Manardo (managing director).
Equistone Partners – Stanislas Gaillard (partner).
Sogetrel – Xavier Vignon (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Bryan Garnier, Thibaut De Smedt, Alexandre Boukhari, Griffin Woollgar (M&A); Mayer Brown, Olivier Aubouin, Alexandre Dejardin, Patrick Teboul, Elodie Deschamps (Legal); EY Advisory, Etienne Costes, Axel Duplan, Thibaud Chabrelié (Commercial due diligence); PwC, Cécile Debin, Rémi Montredon, Jean-Philippe Brillet, Bernard Borrély (Legal, yax); SBKG, Julien Mayeras (Legal).
Vendor – BNP Paribas, Sylvina Mayer, Virginie Scotto (M&A); King & Wood Mallesons, Maxence Bloch, Pierre Louis Sevegrand (Legal).
Management – McDermott, Henri Pieyre de Mandiargues, Félix Huon (Legal); Finavik, Vincent Rivaillon (Corporate finance); KPMG, Axel Rebaudières, Guilhem Maguin (Financial due diligence); Oliver Wyman, Emmanuel Amiot, Gunesh Dwarika (Commercial due diligence).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Exits
• Industrials
• France
• France
• Equistone Partners Europe
• Quilvest Private Equity
• BPI France
• Secondary buyout