Ardian's Trescal bolts on two US firms

Ellie Pullen
10 April 2014

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Ardian has supported its portfolio company Trescal, a French calibration services provider, with the acquisition of US firms Instrument Calibration Services (ICS) and Test Equipment Repair Corporation (TERC).

The two Atlanta, Georgia-based companies were acquired to bolster Trescal's operations in the US. Ardian previously provided €11.1m in acquisition finance for Trescal's bolt-on of Silicon Valley-based SE Laboratories in October last year, according to unquote" data.

The bolt-ons mark the fourth expansion deal for Trescal since Ardian's acquisition of the company in July 2013. The GP purchased an 82% stake in Trescal in a secondary buyout from 3i and TCR Capital for an enterprise value of €250m, according to unquote" data. Management retained the remaining 18% stake.

3i had acquired a majority stake in Trescal in 2010, investing €36m in the €110m secondary buyout from Astorg Partners. 3i was expected to reap around €71m in the sale to Ardian, equivalent to 2x its original investment. TCR became a minority shareholder in the deal with 3i.

Astorg had acquired Trescal in December 2007, with Ardian supplying mezzanine finance, according to unquote" data. Ardian had also supplied mezzanine financing in the 3i and TCR buyout.

Companies
ICS and TERC provide calibration and repair services for measurement and test equipment. Collectively, the two companies generated around $4.2m in revenues last year and employ 24 staff.

Trescal was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Rungis. The company employs 1,800 staff and generated turnover of €157m in 2012, with an EBITDA of €23m. It provides calibration, equipment management and IT solutions, targeting the telecommunications, automotive, defence, electronics, aerospace, energy, medical and chemical sectors.

Following the bolt-ons of ICS and TERC, Trescal claims its pro forma revenues have reached €181m.

People
Olivier Delrieu is the CEO of Trescal, while Britt Meyers is the president and founder of both ICS and TERC. Thibault Basquin, a managing director for the mid-cap buyout team at Ardian, worked on the deal alongside Yann Bak, Arnaud Tardan and Edouard Level.

Advisers
Equity – Hooper Hathaway, Jim Beuche (Legal); EY, Jérôme Cazauvieilh, Laurent Majubert (Financial due diligence); Alvarez & Marsal Taxand, Cardell McKinstry, Ernesto Perez (Tax).