Cinven in €450m Prezioso exit to Altrad

Greg Gille
17 March 2016

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Cinven has sold its majority stake in French industrial services company Prezioso Linjebygg to French corporate Altrad.

The deal is understood to have valued Prezioso at around €450m; although Altrad has secured exclusivity, the transaction is still subject to the customary approvals by works councils and France's competition authorities.

Altrad will secure a 90% stake in the business, with management holding onto the remaining 10%. Altrad is active in the provision of scaffolding, insulation, painting and mechanical services – the buyer expects to see significant synergies with Prezioso, while also opening up further access to markets including Africa and northern Europe.

The process was managed by Rothschild on behalf of Cinven. The returns generated by the GP remain undisclosed for the time being.

Previous funding
Prezioso has a long history of private equity ownership. Barclays Private Equity completed the company's first buyout, spending an undisclosed amount, thought to be less than €50m, to buy the company from its private owners. The firm sold Prezioso to Silverfleet in 2002 for €170m, with mezzanine provided by Indigo Capital.

Indigo then secured control of Prezioso from Silverfleet in 2006, before selling to Cinven in 2012 – the latter deal was reported to be worth around €300-350m at the time, with financing rolled over by the seven banks that backed Prezioso.

Cinven invested in Prezioso from the Fifth Cinven fund, which closed on €5.3bn in 2013. Following the acquisition, Prezioso saw revenue and EBITDA growth of 57% and 65% respectively, according to Cinven. One of the key developments was geographical diversification into the North Sea oil and gas market following the bolt-on of Norway-based Linjebygg Offshore in 2014.

Company
Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Vienne, Prezioso provides a range of industrial coating and maintenance services, with a specific focus on oil and gas rigs, as well as nuclear facilities. Its clients include Total, EDF, BP, Exxon, Chevron and Statoil. The group operates in the North Sea, western Africa, the Middle East and France. It generates a turnover of €450m and employs 5,300 staff.

Altrad is based in Montpellier and was founded 30 years ago by self-made billionaire Mohed Altrad. It generated sales of €1.9bn and EBITDA of €230m in 2015. The group is forecasting EBITDA of €300m following the acquisition, putting Prezioso's earnings in the region of €70m.

People
Cinven – Nicolas Paulmier (partner); Pierre Estrade (senior principal).
Prezioso – Olivier Dufour (CEO).
Altrad – Mohed Altrad (president).

Advisers
Equity, company – Rothschild (M&A); Clifford Chance (legal); Deloitte (commercial due diligence).
Acquirer – Latham & Watkins (legal); EY (commercial due diligence, tax, legal).