Activa buys Abrisud from AtriA

The deal values the business in the €50-75m range, equating to a 7-7.5x EBITDA multiple. Funds were drawn from Activa Capital Fund II, a FCPR vehicle which closed on €315m in 2007.

AtriA Capital Partenaires initially launched an auction to divest the business, but the process fell apart as the vendor's pricing expectations couldn't be met. Activa Capital then managed to negotiate directly with AtriA and finalised the deal in two months.

The new owner plans to accelerate Abrisud's expansion into European markets. The group will also look to diversify its activity into micro-architecture and not focus solely on swimming pool covers – it might therefore perform strategic acquisitions in the future. Finally, Abrisud will aim to penetrate the B2C market, notably by targeting hotels and public swimming pools.

Debt
Senior debt financing was arranged by Crédit Agricole CIB and Crédit Agricole Toulouse, while Acto Mezzanine provided mezzanine funding. Leverage on this transaction stands at around 4x the company's EBITDA.

Previous funding
AtriA Capital Partenaires backed the management buyout of Abrisud in 2005 via the AtriA Private Equity Fund II.

Company
Founded in 1996, Abrisud manufactures covers and enclosures for swimming pools. Based in L'Isle-Jourdain, the company employs 250 people and sells its products across 11 European countries. Abrisud posted a €50m turnover in 2010.

People
Olivier Nemsguern, Benjamin Moreau and Pierre Chabaud handled the deal for Activa Capital. AtriA Capital Partenaires was represented by Fabien Sultan and Louis-Eric Michel-Weltert. François-Xavier Desgrippes is CEO of Abrisud.

Advisers
Equity – PricewaterhouseCoopers, Martin Naquet-Radiguet, Stéphane Salustro (Financial due diligence); LEK, Rémy Ossmann (Commercial due diligence); Neovian Partners, Patrick Richer (Commercial due diligence); Mayer Brown, Guillaume Kuperfils, Pascal Druhen-Charnaux, PatrickTeboul, Laurent Borey (Legal).
Vendor – BNP CF, Geoffroy de Chezelles, Michael Bredael (Corporate finance); Hoche, Jean-Luc Blein (Legal).
Debt – Linklaters, Arnaud Fromion (Legal); Frieh Bouhenic, Maud Manon (Legal).

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• Topics
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