IK buys Evac from Oaktree

The Swedish GP will acquire almost all of the shares, with Evac's management retaining a small stake in the company.

IK partner Kristian Carlsson Kemppinen told unquote" the transaction was leveraged at roughly 50%, with the all-senior debt package being provided by a club of Nordic banks.

IK had been following the company for more than three years – it was attracted to the deal by Evac's management and the company's market position. Kemppinen pointed out it is not common to find a company of Evac's quality in the sub-€100m revenue segment.

IK had discussions with the company in that three-year period, having completed market due diligence even before Evac launched the sale process towards the end of Q3.

The investment is the sixth made through IK's €1.7bn IK VII Fund, which most recently acquired Exxelia from LBO France.

The deal comes just over a year after Oaktree bought a majority stake in the waste and wastewater collection and treatment system manufacturer from its parent, Carlyle-owned Zodiac.

The GP had not been able to acquire Evac at the time, as the parent was looking for a different type of transaction from what IK was offering. According to sources, Oaktree's buyout had been a debt-for-equity swap, after the GP had bought into the parent's debt structure.

IK plans to focus mainly on organic growth for its new acquisition, through a strategy developed by the current management team, as well as some growth generated through acquisitions.

Previous funding
The company was originally part of Finnish toilet manufacturer Sanitec, which was bought by BC Partners in 2001. Evac was later divested to French marine group Zodiac in 2007.

Oaktree bought Evac alongside Milpro from Zodiac Marine & Pool – owned by The Carlyle Group – for €175m in January 2013. Macquarie and Tikehau IM provided €53m in unitranche financing to enable Oaktree's acquisition of Evac.

Company
Headquartered in Espoo, Evac designs, manufactures and markets waste and wastewater collection and treatment systems – such as vacuum toilet and rubbish systems. It targets the marine, offshore and building industries.

Founded in 1975, the Finnish company has delivered more than a million vacuum toilets for 12,000 vessels.

Evac employs 190 people in 40 countries and its forecast revenue for 2014 is close to €70m.

People
IK partner Kristian Carlsson Kemppinen worked on the deal for the GP. Tomi Gardemeister is the CEO of Evac Group.

Advisers
Equity – MFC Corporate Finance (M&A); EY (Tax, financial due diligence); Roschier (Legal); JLT (Insurance due diligence); Estin & Co (Commercial due diligence).

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