Kopram (France) - Dec 2007

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01 December 2007

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In a management buyout valuing the company between €15-20m, or 6.5-7.5x EBIT, Capzanine has acquired a majority stake in sawing products distributor Kopram. The deal allows management to invest in the company and the partial exit of one of the founders. Capzanine, which invested in equity and debt, is said to have syndicated part of the equity on the deal to other private equity firms. Aforge Finance ran a selection process aimed at financial bidders. The corporate financier’s Lyon office originally contacted around 10 private equity firms, before narrowing the auction to a shortlist of three. Banco Espirito Santo et de la Vénétie won an open bid to arrange the senior debt package. The lender, which entered the French market in 2002 when it absorbed Via Banque, will syndicate around 60% of the debt, notably to the company’s banks.

Company

Founded in 1987, Grenoble-based Kopram distributes disposable tools and machinery equipment for manual and automatic saws. The business is the exclusive distributor in France of global brand Lenox. The group generated sales of €13m in 2007 and hopes to grow by extending the reach of its network of retail points.

People

Christophe Karvelis and Julie Masson worked on the transaction for Capzanine, while Thierry Boistay and Fabrice Perez arranged the debt for Banco Espirito Santo et de la Vénétie. Maurice Rebattet and Jean-Claude Navarro are the company’s founding CEOs.

Advisers

Debt - Orsay, Frédérique Milotic (Legal)Equity - CSA, Erik Boisseau-Lauré (Other Due Diligence)Equity - Ernst & Young, Lionel Denjean, Nicolas Truchot (Other Due Diligence)Equity - Fidal, Olivier Jousset, Vincent Maurel (Legal)Vendor - Aforge Finance, Antoine Roue-Lecuyer, Bertrand Manet (Corporate Finance)Vendor - Quadratur, Frédéric Chaillet, Gilles Fresel (Legal)