LBO France's Averys in €165m dividend recap

Greg Gille
07 October 2014

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Averys, a French storage systems company owned by LBO France, has benefited from a €165m refinancing, unquote" has learned.

Averys secured a new €165m senior debt facility, comprising a €125m B tranche, a €25m A tranche and acquisition finance facilities worth €15m. BNP Paribas and RBC acted as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.

The company's net debt now stands at 3.5x EBITDA.

LBO France was able to partially realise its investment as part of the refinancing, although the amount of the dividend remains undisclosed.

The new facility is also portable in the event of a shareholding reshuffle. That said, a source close to the situation told unquote" that, while LBO France was planning on exiting the business in the next year or so, no process was currently in place.

Should a change in ownership occur, the new facility includes an option for net debt to be increased up to 4.5x EBITDA through mezzanine financing.

21 Centrale Partners sold Averys to LBO France in a secondary buyout back in 2008. 21 Centrale initially acquired Averys in 2005 in a take-private alongside co-investors Cogepa and Synergie Finance, which valued the company at €43.4m.

The refinancing is reminiscent of that arranged earlier this year for another LBO France portfolio company, Exxelia. The components manufacturer was refinanced to the tune of €175m; the package included a €130m senior facility as well as a €45m mezzanine tranche. LBO France was able to net an €82m dividend in the process. The new debt package was also portable – LBO France ended up selling Exxelia to IK Investment Partners at the beginning of September.

Company
Paris-based Averys was founded in 1985 under the name GPRI, rebranding in 2004. The company specialises in shelving and metal furniture for industrial use, selling its products under seven brands: Duwic, Feralco, SLP, Standard, Wandalex-Feralco, Lapouyade and Acial. The group employs 900 people in France, Germany, Poland and Turkey.

Averys posted a €346m turnover in 2013.