Cinven and BC exit final Amadeus shares and reap 7x

Both Cinven and BC Partners achieved a money multiple of 7x on their 2005 investment.

The remaining 15.3 million shares in the company were sold at €12.6 per share and raised €193m.

Cinven and BC originally backed the take-private of Amadeus in July 2005. They delisted the firm from the Madrid, Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges as part of a deal which valued the business at €4.34bn.

Since then, the company has invested more than €1bn in product development, increased its global market share from 29% in 2005 to 37% and grown its turnover and EBITDA by 48% and 84% respectively. New management was also appointed to Opodo, the online travel agent owned by Amadeus, and the group reduced its net debt to 1.8x EBITDA in June 2011.

Cinven generated €223m when it first sold a stake on the Madrid Stock Exchange in April last year. The company's other principal shareholder, airline Iberia, decided not to participate in the IPO.

Amadeus is a transaction processor for the global tourism industry, providing technology solutions to tour operators and travel agencies.

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