Altor and Triton-backed Papyrus acquires Procurator

Mikkel Stern-Peltz
10 January 2017

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Altor and Triton-owned Swedish paper and packaging business Papyrus has acquired MalmУЖ-based provider of workwear, hygiene products and office supplies Procuator from parent RoosGruppen.

As part of the deal, RoosGruppen will become a joint shareholder in Papyrus alongside Altor and Triton, which hold stakes through the 2006-vintage vehicles €1.15bn Altor Fund II and €1.115bn Triton Fund II.

Altor told unquote" neither Altor nor Triton have realised value through the changes to the ownership structure.

Papyrus will acquire 100% of the shares in Procurator, provided the transaction is approved by the Swedish competition authority.

In December 2016, Papyrus sold its French operations to listed Portuguese paper merchant Inapa, trading 100% of the shares in its subsidiary for 100% of the shares in Inapa's Swiss arm. According to a statement by Inapa, the deal involved no cash or debt. Inapa Schweiz had a turnover of €52m in 2015, while Papyrus France recorded €156m in revenues.

Overall, the Papyrus group has seen declining revenues since at least 2011, falling from around €1.88bn to around €1.54bn in 2015, according to its financial statements. Over the same period, EBITDA has remained relatively stable around €48m in three of the past five years, posting €48.3m in 2015.

Since 2011, Papyrus has brought down its net debt from €393m to €5.9m in 2015, while increasing its staff from 728 to 828 over the same period.

Previous funding
Altor and Triton acquired Papyrus in a carve-out from Swedish-Finnish listed paper and pulp group Stora Enso in a 2008 MBO. The €640m EV deal saw Altor II take a 51% stake in the business, with Triton II holding the remaining 49%.

The transaction consisted of approximately €490m in cash, around €93m of net liabilities assumed by the acquirer and a vendor note of €57m.

Company
Headquartered in Malmö, Procurator is a retailer of workwear, paper, hygiene products, restaurant supplies and office supplies.

The company operates across the Nordic region, as well as in Estonia and Latvia, employing a staff of around 260 people. Procurator was founded in 1936 and posted SEK 1.15bn in turnover in the 2015 financial year.

People
Papyrus – Christoph Sander (CEO).