Siparex et al. take stake in Malherbe SBO

The transaction is believed to be valued in the €50-60m range. The Siparex-led consortium also includes CDC Entreprises (investing as part of the FSI France Investissement programme), UNEXO, Socadif and NCI. The investors reportedly secured a minority stake in the business, while Malherbe's management retains 51% of the shares.

This marks the maiden investment for Siparex's MidMarket III, which is currently being raised. The GP held a €90m first close in September last year and has so far attracted €115m towards a €150m target.

Nixen, which backed the business in a previous SBO in 2008, exited Malherbe following the transaction.

Debt
Financing for this latest deal was supplied by a bank consortium led by BNP Paribas and comprising Arkea Banque Entreprises et Institutionnels, Banque CIC Nord Ouest, Banque Palatine, Caisse d'Epargne et de Prévoyance Normandie, Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Normandie and Crédit Lyonnais.

Previous funding
Activa Capital sold its 50% interest in Malherbe in a secondary MBO in 2008. Following the deal, the group's CEO Alain Samson reinvested and became majority shareholder alongside Nixen, which took a minority interest. Activa had originally partnered Alain Samson in an OBO of Malherbe in 2004.

Despite the downturn, Malherbe saw its turnover increase over the holding period, from €160m in 2008 to around €200m last year.

Company
Founded in 1963, Malherbe is an industrial transportation business based in Rots. The company operates a fleet of 750 vehicles and 21 agencies across France. It employs 1,300 staff.

People
Bertrand Rambaud, Pierre Bordeaux Montrieux, Augustin de Jerphanion and Marie Clothilde Vial led the deal for Siparex. Jean-Paul Bernardini, Vincent Houlot and Anne-Laure Mougenot represented Nixen.

Advisers
Equity – PwC, Karine Olivier, Xavier Klein (Financial due diligence); Landwell, Louis Bravard, Cédric Sapède, Matthieu Courtadon (Legal, tax); Ayache Salama, David Ayache (Legal).
Vendors – UBS Corporate Advisory Group, Jérôme Pin, Nicolas Henry, Julien Donarier (M&A); De Pardieu Brocas Maffei, Guillaume Touttee, Alexandre Lecomte, Alexandre Wibaux (Legal); Eight Advisory, Stéphane Vanbergue, Christophe Puissegur (Financial due diligence); Racine, Frédéric Broud, Marie Vernhes, Evguenia Dereviankine (Social & commercial due diligence).

 

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• Topics
• France
• Buyouts
• Exits
• Industrials
• France
• Siparex
• NiXEN
• Secondary buyout