Capital Croissance buys minority stake in Altima

The LBO saw Capital Croissance secure a minority stake in Altima. Meanwhile, members of the management team including CEO Arnaud Monnier, CFO François-Charles Debeunne and managing director Frédéric Grignion invested alongside the GP and kept a majority interest.

Speaking to unquote", Capital Croissance revealed Altima represents its largest investment to date. The SME-focused house was approached by intermediary firm Oloryn Partners in early March, with negotiations lasting until an agreement was reached in July.

Enterprise value was not disclosed, but the GP's Cairn Capital I fund - used to finance the transaction - targets companies valued below the €30m threshold.

Having hit its €75m hard-cap in January, the vehicle writes €2-10m equity cheques that can increase to €15m when co-investing alongside other firms, according to unquote" data. Altima represents its third deal to date, with prior investments in French animal nutrition researcher Safe in April 2013 and tissue bank operator Biobank in September 2014.

According to the Capital Croissance, Cairn Capital I will soon be used to support a fourth deal, to be announced before the end of July. By then, the vehicle should have deployed 25% of all committed capital.

With Capital Croissance's backing, Altima will target external growth in France and worldwide, with plans to carry out bolt-on acquisitions.

Debt
CIC Nord Ouest and Banque Populaire du Nord jointly arranged a senior debt facility for Altima, with the participation of Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel Nord de France.

Company
Established in 1997 by Arnaud Monnier, Altima is a digital agency focusing on the online retail sector. The business provides services ranging from web design to managed hosting and customer relationship management (CRM) to Axa, ING Direct, Décathlon and Interflora, among other brands and distributors.

Headquartered in Roubaix, Altima operates a network of seven agencies distributed across France, the US, Russia and China. With around 240 employees, the company most recently reported €20m in gross profits.

The turnover figure remains confidential, but Capital Croissance usually seeks companies posting sales in the €3-50m region. According to the GP's estimates, Altima has doubled its revenues over the last five years.

People
Capital Croissance's work on the deal was coordinated by its founder and CEO Eric Neuplanche and associate director Cédric Boxberger. Arnaud Monnier is CEO of Altima.

Advisers
Equity – Thémis, Charlotte Lagrange (Legal); Oderis, Thomas Claverie, Jean-Christian Raymond (Financial due diligence).
Company – Septentrion Finance, Damien Barenne, Guillaume Dubois (Corporate finance); Bignon Lebray Avocats, Edouard Waels, Alexandre Ghesquière, Gauthier Chavanet (Legal).
Management – Oloryn Partners, Frédéric Jannin, Stéphane Franchaud (Management due diligence).

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