Axcel sells Ball Group to Findos, wraps up fund

The sale ends a holding period of around 12 years for Axcel III, which made 11 platform investments between 2005-2008 after closing on its DKK 3bn hard-cap in April 2006. The vehicle had a 10-year life with an optional three-year extension.

Findos generally targets investments in companies based in the DACH region with turnover between €25-200m. However, it has previously completed transactions in the Netherlands and Denmark.

Ball Group was forecasting revenues of DKK 400m when Axcel acquired it in 2006 and has now reached DKK 600m, according to a press release. The company said in a statement that the business achieved 70% top line growth in the last three years.

Asbjørn Mosgaard Hyldgaard has been responsible for the investment at Axcel since the standard sizes were divested in 2016 to focus on the plus-size lines.

Company
Ball Group was founded in 1988 as a generalist women's fashion retailer. In 2016, it decided to focus exclusively on the Zizzi brand, targeting the plus-size segment. Accordingly, the other brands were divested. The stores were run on a franchise model until 2018, when the remaining franchise stores were acquired by Ball Group. Approximately 150 employees work at the company's head office in Billund, Denmark.

People
Axcel Management – Christian Schmidt-Jacobsen (managing partner); Asbjørn Mosgaard Hyldgaard (partner).
Ball Group – Kuno Kildetoft (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Deloitte (corporate finance); Plesner (legal).

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