Carré Blanc (France) - Dec 2007

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01 December 2007

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In a deal valuing the company at around €70m, CDC Capital Investissement (CDC CI) has backed the tertiary buyout of home fabrics company Carré Blanc. Vendors CIC LBO Partners and CIC Finance generated an IRR of around 50% and a multiple of 2.5x from the exit. Mezzanine Management invested €15-20m in equity and mezzanine alongside CDC CI.

Sourcing

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) ran an auction process which, among others, attracted European Capital and a syndicate led by Siparex, which was forced to abandon its bid in August 2007. Winning bidder CDC CI had attempted to acquire the business in the 2005 auction, which was also run by PwC.

Financing

Société Générale, which won the mandate to provide the €30m senior debt after making a firm offer, is reportedly still deciding whether to syndicate part of it. The package comprises a significant A-tranche and a smaller B-tranche. Mezzanine Management provided a €12m mezzanine facility.

History

In May 2005, CIC LBO Partners and CIC Finance acquired 80% of Carré Blanc in a E40m secondary buyout (July/August 2005, page 24). Carré Blanc was the subject of a buy-in management buyout in 2000. 3i, which led the transaction, invested FFr 126m in the deal in return for a majority stake in the newco, and syndicated a part of the deal to Initiative & Finance, which provided a FFr 10m investment. Bernard Lewinger, who previously owned almost 100% of the company, rolled over part of his stake to retain a significant minority interest in the company.

Company

Established in 1983, Roanne-based Carré Blanc is a specialist distributor of mid- to top-range home fabrics through 240 franchised, corner or fully-owned retail points. Between 2004 and 2006, the company’s retail turnover and EBIT increased by 50% and 30% respectively to reach €80m and €7.8m. Real revenues of €40m were recorded in 2006. CDC CI hopes to double the company’s size within five years, by unrolling the business in retail parks, by focusing on opening fully-owned sites, strengthening its range of baby-oriented products and expanding into Spain, Italy, Eastern and Southern Europe.

People

Lionel Cormier, Antoine Emmanuelli and Pierre-Henri Besse worked on the transaction for CDC Capital Investissement, while Valérie Lebreton and Henry-Louis Mérieux were in charge for Mezzanine Management. Bertrand Fesneau and Rémi Matuchansky negotiated the exit for CIC LBO Partners, while Blandine Roche did so for CIC Finance. Cyril-Henri Prévost and Charles- Emmanuel Pascal arranged the debt for Société Générale. Claude Jantet is Carré Blanc’s CEO.

Advisers

Equity - Advention, Benjamin Cohen, Jean-Michel Schmidt (Other Due Diligence)Equity - Ernst & Young, Christophe Lehujeur, Emanuel Picard (Financial Due Diligence)Equity - Latournerie Wolfrom & Associés, Christian Wolfrom (Legal)Equity - Paul Hastings, Olivier Deren (Legal)Management - Lamartine Conseil, Florence Savouré, Olivier Renault (Legal)Management - Lamartine Conseil, Florence Savouré, Olivier Renault (Legal)Vendor - Orsay, Patrick Douin, Samira Friggeri (Legal)Vendor - PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hervé Colson, Noël Albertus (Corporate Finance)