NCI acquires Thermes de Bagnoles de l'Ornes in SBO

Ellie Pullen
30 January 2014

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NCI Gestion has acquired French spa operator Thermes de Bagnoles de l’Ornes (B’O Resort) from Acto Capital, marking the company’s tertiary buyout.

NCI invested in the company via its Major Capital fund, a €33.3m Normandy-focused vehicle launched in 2009 that typically supplies €1.5-5m in capital.

Alongside NCI, Volney Développement – part of Crédit Mutuel Maine-Anjou, Basse-Normandie – and Initiative & Finance have joined the shareholding of B'O Resort. Initiative & Finance typically invests €1-10m in companies.

Acto acquired a 90-95% stake in B'O Resort in March 2007. According to unquote" data, LCL provided a senior debt package that accounted for 75% of the deal's value, while IDI Mezzanine supplied a subordinated debt facility.

Shortly after its arrival into the shareholding of B'O Resort, Acto named Sylvain Sérafini as the company's new president.

Acto is part of Groupama Private Equity, which was acquired by ACG Capital in April last year. Ekkio Capital, created last year, manages Acto's funds.

Debt
A debt package was arranged for the tertiary buyout by Crédit Agricole Normandie, and supplied by a syndicate comprising Caisse d'Epargne Normandie, CIC CM, Crédit Agricole Normandie Seine, Crédit Mutuel and Banque Palatine.

The approximate €11m debt package supplied to B'O Resort in Acto's 2007 acquisition was refinanced as part of the buyout.

Company
Located in Bagnoles de l'Ornes in Normandy, B'O Resort is an operator of spas and thermal baths, as well as a restaurant and hotel.

B'O Resort specialises in thermal medicine, predominantly in the fields of rheumatology and phlebology. The company claims to have more than 11,000 visitors to its thermal baths each year.

The company employs 250 staff and generates an €11.4m turnover. At the time of Acto's acquisition in 2007, the business employed 100-125 staff and recorded turnover of €9-10m.

People
Sylvain Sérafini is the president of B'O Resort. Hubert de Germay, an associate director at NCI, worked on the deal for the firm alongside Christophe Douffet.

Advisers
Equity – Lamartine Conseil, Guillaume de Ternay (Legal); ACA Nexia, François Mahe, Laurent Cazebonne (Financial due diligence).
Vendor – CMC, Laurent Blaizac, Ludovic Alonzi (Corporate finance); Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Christophe Garaud (Legal).