Ixo buys majority stake in Evas

The company's management team invested alongside Ixo and secured a 35% stake. Meanwhile, the Saliceti family, the majority owners of the business prior to the MBO, sold their interest; some divested completely while others chose to stay behind as minority shareholders, according to an unquote" source.

The deal is the ninth to be financed via Ixo's third fund, which closed on its €150m hard-cap in late January 2015. Having deployed 40-50% of its capital to date, the vehicle typically invests €3.5-15m per deal. In Evas's case, the equity ticket was closer to the upper end of that bracket, the same source added.

Aside from Evas, Ixo 3 currently holds stakes in menswear designer Olly Gan, appliance discount retailer Groupe MDA and door manufacturer Groupe Optimum, bought alongside BPI France from Azulis Capital.

The MBO of Evas comes a year after iXO began considering an investment in the fire protection system designer. However, it was the business that kickstarted the process when it approached the GP in 2015 as it sought a backer for its expansion plans in France and abroad; the deal was then negotiated directly between both sides.

Debt
The regional arms of Crédit Agricole, Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne et de Prévoyance, Societe Generale and Banque Pouyanne helped finance the MBO with a senior package. The facility is understood to represent 50% of the total deal value.

Company
Established in 1982, Evas designs sprinkler-based fire protection systems used in shopping malls, factories and other buildings.

Headquartered in Castets, the group operates under the Atlantique Automatismes Incendie brand and employs a combined 520 staff across a network of 11 agencies in France.

The business ended 2015 with a €80m turnover and claims to be the third largest player within its segment in France, with a 20% market share.

People
Ixo - Olivier Athanase (general partner); Hasnaa Hafid (associate); Marie-Laure Joubard (analyst).

Advisers
Equity – Fidal Bordeaux, Anne de Galzain, Sébastien Peronne (Legal, tax); Compagnie Fiduciaire, Quitterie Lenoir (Financial due diligence); Plasseraud, Jacques Bardou (IP due diligence); ERM, Julien Famy, Luisa Fumagalli (Environmental due diligence); Assurinco, Stéphane Juan (Insurance due diligence).
Vendor – Fidal Dax, Philippe Saint Arroman, Yannick Cibé (Legal).
Debt – Cabinet Franklin, Olivier Borenstejn (Legal).
Management – Fidal Bordeaux, Céline Daudignon-Bellocq (Legal).

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