Permira buys Vacalians from 21 Partners

José Rojo
26 May 2015

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Permira has acquired a 75% stake in French campsite operator Vacalians Group from 21 Partners alongside investment firm Promeo-Batipart.

The remaining 25% stake will be held by management, the founding family and Promeo-Batipart. The deal is understood to have valued Vacalians at €400m - the business's current debt structure was rolled over, with no fresh leverage arranged.

The exit comes less than three years after Vacalians was formed by 21 Centrale Partners via a merger between portfolio company Vacances Directes and Village Center, a business the GP acquired from NYSE Euronext Paris-listed Promeo Group.

At the time, it was understood both companies would remain independent while the group would seek to expand internationally via a buy-and-build strategy.

As part of that roadmap, Vacalians announced in February it had acquired UK-based Canvas Holidays and the Italian assets of Compagnie Internationale André Trigano (CIAT). Following the purchase, the outdoors accommodation group ended up operating 23,500 camping spots across 260 locations in Europe.

The acquirer's latest fund, Permira V, has been used for 11 other investments since its launch in September 2011. These include German financial services firm GFKL, acquired from Advent International in a €600m SBO last week.

The vehicle closed on its €5.3bn hard-cap in June 2014 against a €6.5bn initial target – which was later revised down to €4-5bn in March 2013, according to unquote" data.

Company
Formed in 2012 via the merger of Vacances Directes and Village Center, Vacalians Group is an outdoor accommodation group. The business operates 44 campsites under the Tohapi brand in France and is also present in Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Headquartered in Sète, Vacalians employs around 700 professionals and posted €140m in consolidated revenues in 2014.

People
Partner Benoît Vauchy and principal Simon Marc led the deal for Permira, while 21 Partners was represented by managing partners François Barbier and Jacques Rossignol. Olivier Ganivenq is CEO at Vacalians Group.

Advisers
Equity, Company – Natixis Partners (Corporate finance); Oddo Corporate Finance (Corporate finance).