LBO France buys Alvest off AXA PE and Equistone

Greg Gille
03 December 2012

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LBO France has acquired French industrial group Alvest from AXA Private Equity and Equistone.

The completion of the transaction remains subject to approval from regulatory authorities. Rothschild handled the sale on behalf of the vendors.

AXA PE took Alvest (then TLD Group) private for €90m in 2006. Calyon underwrote the senior debt package, while Indigo provided mezzanine financing. A revolving credit facility was also arranged. Equistone (then Barclays Private Equity) was invited to take a minority shareholding in the transaction.

Since then, the group expanded through the acquisition of Sage Parts, a company specialising in the distribution of spare parts for ground support equipment at airports. Alvest's turnover has more than doubled since 2006, reaching €300m for 2012. Headcount also increased significantly from 800 to 1,350.

At the time of the original buyout, AXA PE told unquote" a secondary buyout would be a likely exit route.

Company
Operating through its TLD and Sage Parts subsidiaries, Alvest specialises in ground support equipment for airports. The group also produces and markets high-tech adhesive films used for aeronautical applications.

The group operates eight factories in the US, Canada, France and China, which serve customers in more than 130 countries.

TLD was formally established in 1951 but has roots dating back to the 1860s.

People
Robert Daussun, Jerome Guez and Gilles Taldu represented LBO France on the deal. Dominique Gaillard, Bruno Ladrière and Yann Chareton led the deal for AXA PE. Equistone was represented by Arnaud Thomas and Thierry Lardinois.

Advisers
Vendors – Rothschild & Cie, Laurent Baril, François de Breteuil (M&A); Linklaters, Vincent Ponsonnaille, Sebastien Pontillo (Legal).