Comigel (France) - Dec 2007

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01 December 2007

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In a deal valuing the company between €15-20m, Cerea Capital has led the buy-in management buyout of a group comprising frozen foods distributors Comigel and PFFI, and Luxembourg-based frozen food producer Perkins Foods SA, from vendor Perkins Food. The syndicate, which also included Unigrains and Eurocapital, took a 90% stake in the company, with management retaining the balance. The company’s bank Banque Populaire de Lorraine underwrote a new senior debt package of more than €8m to refinance existing debt, and provided a small new line of Capex.

Sourcing

The vendor mandated food-specialist corporate finance boutique Transcapital to manage the sale, which attracted several private equity firms. Two firm offers were eventually received.

Company

Headquartered in St Julien les Metz, the newly-formed group comprises a site in Luxembourg producing frozen cooked dishes including pasta, which are then distributed to frozen food brands. The entity generated a combined turnover of €56m in 2006, an aims to exceed €100m within four or five years. Growth is expected to be driven by an increase in production capacity, a product diversification towards desserts, and an expansion into France’s neighbouring countries. Acquisitions will also be considered.

People

Gilles Sicard and Antoine Peyronnet worked on the transaction for Cerea Capital, while Cyril Chaumien and Lionel Werner represented Unigrains and Eurocapital, respectively. Jacqueline Schneider and Yves Pierre arranged the debt for Banque Populaire de Lorraine.

Advisers

Equity - Bird & Bird, Marc Baffreau, Sandra Matas (Legal)Equity - Deloitte, Alain Matoux, Henri Lejetté (Financial Due Diligence)Equity - ERM, Vincent Sauvaire (Environmental Due Diligence)Equity - Gira, Christophe Lafougère (Other Due Diligence)Equity - Marsh, Anne Moisselin (Insurance Due Diligence)Management - Jean-Baptiste Dumont, (Legal)Vendor - Ashurst, Franck Coudert , Sophie Allex-Lyoudi (Legal)Vendor - PricewaterhouseCoopers, Eric Douheret (Financial Due Diligence)Vendor - Transcapital, Philippe Esser, Thierry Guerin (Corporate Finance)