LBO France and LFPI Gestion close Eminence SBO

Susannah Birkwood
16 August 2011

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LBO France and LFPI Gestion have acquired men's underwear manufacturer Groupe Eminence from Orium and Pechel Industries Partenaires.

LBO France is thought to have invested via its Hexagone III fund, which was launched in April 2009 with a target of €180m, while LFPI may have used its LFPI Croissance vehicle, which was created in 2006, with a target of €150m.

Debt
The debt for this acquisition was provided by Société Générale and Caisse de Crédit Agricole Régional Mutuel de Languedoc, part of Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank.

Previous funding
Orium and fellow Italian investor 21 Centrale Partners staged a buyout of Eminence in 1999, acquiring 78% and 20% of the company respectively from Swiss firm Schisser in a deal valued at less than €25m. In 2001, they provided a fresh capital injection in order for the company to acquire the Italian group Liabel. Following that deal, Orium held a 66% stake, and management maintained around 14%. Orium later purchased 21 Centrale's stake, five years after their initial investment.

Having been approached by the company in June 2009, Pechel Industries took a 42% stake for around €12m, in a deal that also represented a partial exit for Orium. Following Pechel's investment, Orium retained a 40% stake.

When Pechel invested, the debt structure from the 1999 buyout remained in place. This included term loans, and revolving and factoring facilities provided by Banque Worms in Paris.

The investor pursued a strategy to establish a chain of 25 new retail outlets in France and 18 across the rest of Europe. Orium's president, Guy Van Der Mensbrugghe, held a seat on the company's board.

Company
Groupe Eminence, founded in 1944, is a clothing business that focuses on the male underwear sector as well as producing T-shirt and pyjama lines. Since 2003, when it purchased Dior's lingerie division, it has also expanded into the female clothing market by exploiting licences from Galliano, Lacroix, Dior, Kenzo, Lulu Castagnette and Sonia Rykiel.

The company is based in Aimargues in the Gard region of France and employs 1,000 people. It sells underwear in France, Belgium and Spain through its Athéna and Eminence brands, with male products representing more than 90% of revenues. In Italy, the company's Liabel brand dates back to 1851 and has a 10% share of the mass retail market. Eminence's consolidated sales increased by 5.3% between 2009 and 2010 to €137m.

People
Managing directors Hélène Ploix and Bertrand Hainguerlotand, and investment director Alain Cochenet worked on the exit for Pechel, while Jean-Daniel Camus, chairman, and Guy Van Der Mensbrugghe represented Orium. Dominique Seau, the company CEO, and general managers Joseph Serres and Laurent Baratte worked on the deal for Eminence.

Advisers
Equity – Tonucci & Partners, Ughi e Nunziante (Legal).
Vendor – Hawkpoint Partners, Nadim Barouki and Philippe Guerin/Grégoire le Sourd (Corporate finance); SJ Berwin, Maxence Bloch and Pierre-Louis Sevegrand (Legal); Eight Advisory, Pascal Raidron and Katia Wagner (Financial due diligence); OC&C, Jean-Daniel Pick and Guy-Noël Chatelin (Strategy).