Isatis et al. back MBO of HBF

Around 15 members of the company's management team, led by director Jean-Pierre Ferraud, have retained a 25% stake in the business. Isatis and Ixo invested equal amounts in the buyout.

The parties are acquiring their stakes from HBF's founders, Jean-Pierre Fichepain and Henri Forest, and Spanish company Cablerias Group. Cablerias entered the shareholding of HBF in 2006, when the company's management sold the majority of their shares to the Spanish firm to fund international growth.

Prior to Cablerias's involvement, the company was called Inotech. The deal with Cablerias established Groupe HBF as it stands today.

Debt
A debt package has been provided for the MBO by a syndicate comprising Crédit Agricole Toulouse 31, Banque Palatine, Caisse d'Epargne and Banque Populaire Occitane.

Company
Founded in 1996, HBF is headquartered in Auterive with additional offices in Lyon, Nîmes, Vigo, Madrid, Alessandria, Ningbo and Hong Kong. The company designs, develops and manufactures electrical equipment for the DIY retail sector.

HBF is composed of five subsidiaries, which include electrical equipment specialist Inotech, lighting specialist Elexity and home automation specialist Otio. The group's two other subsidiaries, Vinotech and Vinon, act as the product distribution and centralised purchasing divisions respectively for the Asian market.

The company generates turnover of more than €45m.

People
Jean-Pierre Ferraud is the director of HBF. Isatis investment director Laurent Baudino, Ixo associate Rémi Cheriaux and Multicroissance director Pierre-François Brunot all worked on the deal.

Advisers
Equity – Vaughan Avocats, Bruno de Laportaliere, Lionel Agossou, Jean-Charles de Bellefon (Legal); KPMG, Béatrice Charlas (Financial due diligence); Marsh, Cécile Delaunay (Insurance due diligence).
Management – NFinance Securities, Maxime Dugast (Corporate finance); Axiom Avocats, Maité Leuleu-Menassier (Legal).
Vendors – Landwell, Michel-Pierre Lanternier (Legal).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• France
• Industrials
• iXO Private Equity
• France
• Multicroissance