Capital Croissance buys minority stake in HL Trad

José Rojo
11 September 2015

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SME-focused investor Capital Croissance has acquired a minority stake in French translation service HL Trad as part of an MBO for the business.

Deploying equity alongside the GP were Eric Le Poole and Emmanuel Hacques, who founded HL Trad in 2006 – the duo will retain control of the business as majority shareholders.

HL Trad will seek growth both in France and abroad, and might enter new business segments via external acquisitions.

Enterprise value for HL Trad was not disclosed but Cairn Capital I, the fund used by Capital Croissance for the buyout, targets companies valued at €30m or less.

The GP did not reveal its contribution during the MBO either, but it typically writes €2-10m equity cheques as a standalone investor with the fund.

Having closed on €75m in January, Cairn Capital I has been used for four investments since launch. Portfolio companies include animal nutrition researcher Safe and tissue bank operator Biobank, acquired in April 2013 and September 2014 respectively.

Prior to HL Trad, its earliest investment was in support of a buyout for Roubaix-headquartered e-commerce digital agency Altima in late July. At the time, the firm told unquote" the deal would be followed by a fourth in the coming months, at which point Cairn Capital I would be 25% invested.

Debt
HL Trad's takeover was supported with a debt facility supplied jointly by Crédit Lyonnais and Banque Populaire Val de France.

Company
HL Trad was founded in 2006 as a translation service targeting clients within the legal and financial industries such as banks, and law and advisory firms. Headquartered in Paris, the company has set up offices in Brussels, London, Geneva and Amsterdam in 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2015, respectively.

The business employs 35 full-time professionals and works with 2,250 translators servicing more than 750 clients Europe-wide. It generates turnover of around €8m.

People
Capital Croissance's work on the deal was coordinated by managing partner Régis Lamarche, associate directors Cédric Boxberger and Julie Masson, and project manager Edouard Nuttin. Eric Le Poole and Emmanuel Hacques are the co-founders of HL Trad.

Advisers
Equity – Grant Thornton, Nathalie Margraitte, Edouard Lobry (Corporate finance); Lamartine Conseil, Vincent Libaud (Legal).
Management – EY Corporate Finance, Olivier Catonnet, Julie Van de Velde, Matthieu Banal (M&A); Villey Girard Grolleaud, Frédéric Grillier (Legal).