Accent in SEK 760m Akademibokhandeln exit

Accent will sell its entire shareholding to Swedish industrial investor Volati, which will take a 94.8% holding, with the remainder of the shares staying with the book retailer's management. The acquisition will take place at an estimated enterprise value of SEK 760m, payable on completion and will be financed through Volati's available cash funds and existing credit facilities. The purchase consideration for 100% of the shares amounts to SEK 263m.

Volati will also acquire the shares held by JP Killberg Bokhandelsaktiebolag, Stiftelsen Bokförlaget Natur & Kultur and Krasse & Co.

Akademibokhandeln issued a SEK 500m secured bond, which was listed on Nasdaq Stockholm in May 2017. The bond extends for four years and carries an interest rate of STIBOR 3M + 6.0%. As long as the bond loan is outstanding, restrictions exist governing how Volati can partake in cash flows from Akademibokhandeln's operations.

This is the second exit from the Accent Equity 2012 fund, which has 17 companies in its portfolio. The fund's latest acquisition was the buyout of Norwegian construction machinery manufacturer Stal & Hyr in February, while its first exit was laundry services provider Textilia in the same month.

Previous funding
The private equity house bought the company from Swedish cooperative group Kooperativa Förbundet in July 2015, acquiring a 65% stake. The acquisition was made through its Accent Equity 2012 fund and it later increased its stake to 71.7%.

Company
Akademibokhandeln has 108 stores nationwide, 80 under its own management with around 500 staff and 28 run as franchises. In 2016 the company had net sales of around SEK 1.8bn and an EBITDA of SEK 125m. It has a 35% market share in Swedish consumer book retailing.

People
Volati – Mårten Andersson (CEO)
Akademibokhandeln – Maria Hamrefors (CEO); Martin Tisell (chair).
Accent Equity Partners – Martin Tisell (partner).

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• Accent Equity Partners
• Trade sale