LBO France acquires Fine Sounds in SBO from Quadrivio

Yarpa Investmenti also acquired a significant minority stake in the company alongside management. 

Quadrivio has fully divested its stake in the company, unquote" understands. According to the vendor's website, the GP previously held 90% of Fine Sounds.

Following the SBO, the company intends to expand its international activity and add to its product range.

LBO France cited the group's buy-and-build strategy under Quadrivio as the motivation behind the deal. During its previous ownership Fine Sounds acquired brands including McIntosh, Audio Research and Wadia.

Capital for the buyout was drawn from LBO's Hexagone III fund. The GP stated that, following the acquisitions of Fine Sounds and Vaglio, the €154m fund is now 70% invested across seven companies.

According to unquote data", other investments from the fund include IT services company Data Concept Informatique, which LBO France acquired in April 2011 in a secondary buyout for €48m; and French electronic equipment manufacturer Groupe CMR.

Debt
Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company and Bank of the West provided debt to support the acquisition.

Company
Founded in 2007 and based in Milan, Fine Sounds manufactures high-end audio equipment. The group comprises the Sonus Faber, McIntosh, Audio Research, Wadia, Sumiko and Fine Sounds Asia brands.

Fine Sounds has a distribution network across 67 countries and a headcount of roughly 250 employees. In 2013 it generated a turnover €60m and has an enterprise value of €100m.

People
Mauro Grange is president of Fine Sounds. Philippe Guérin, a director at LBO Small Cap Hexagone, led the deal alongside Karine Callec.

Advisers
Equity – Morrison & Foerster, Jonathan Melmed, Enrico Granata, Jeff Kayes, Charles P Ciaccio (Legal, tax); NCTM Studio Legale Associato, Matteo Trapani, Alice Bucolo (Legal); Deloitte, Marco Bastasin, Marco Loda (Financial due diligence); Bain & Company (Strategic due diligence).
Vendor – Rothschild Milan (M&A); Pedersoli, Ascanio Cibrario (Legal, tax).
Debt – Alston & Bird, Deanna L Kashdan (Legal).

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• Topics
• Consumer
• Southern Europe
• Exits
• Secondary buyout
• LBO France
• Quadrivio