Polaris sells Louis Poulsen to Investindustrial

Nicole Tovstiga
27 June 2018

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Polaris Private Equity has exited its portfolio company Louis Poulsen, a Danish architectural lighting supplier, to Investindustrial in a secondary buyout.

The company was sold at an enterprise value of DKK €1.5bn, according to local press reports.

The deal ends a four-year holding period for Polaris, during which the company increased revenue by 7% a year while EBITDA doubled. The company opened new showrooms in Tokyo and Los Angeles, as well as moving into new markets such as South Korea, France and Italy.

The sale is the 10th exit from Polaris Private Equity III, which held a final close on €365m in 2010. Following the exit, it will have returned more than 3x on a gross basis, which puts it into the top quartile for 2009-vintage funds, according to a source.

European mid-market-focused Investindustrial has a track record in the design sector. Its current investments include Flos, acquired in 2014; B&B Italia, acquired in 2015; Arclinea, acquired in 2016, and Oka, acquired at the end of 2017.

Previous funding
Polaris and merchants Hanssen and Droob first acquired and de-listed Louis Poulsen, then relisted it on the Copenhagen exchange in a joint venture in October 1999.

Polaris wholly acquired the company and its subsidiaries in 2014 from Italy-based Targetti Sankey Group. The management team remained unchanged following the deal, which saw Polaris acquire Louis Poulsen for a second time.

Company
Founded in 1894 and headquartered in Copenhagen with production in Vejen, Louis Poulsen manufactures and sells lighting fixtures to private consumers and professionals. The company recorded turnover of DKK 801m in 2017. It employs 455 people, including 300 based in Denmark. The company's main markets are Scandinavia, Germany, the US and Japan.

People
Polaris – Allan Bach Pedersen (partner).
Louis Poulsen – Søren Mygind Eskildsen (CEO).

Advisers
Acquirer – ABG Sundal Collier (M&A); Studio Legale Chiomenti (legal); Kromann Reumert (legal); Hogan Lovells (legal); PwC (financial due diligence, tax); Bain & Company (commercial due diligence); Willis (insurance due diligence); Golder Associates (environmental due diligence).