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The Deals Pipeline

Unquote team
10 March 2020

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A fortnightly highlight of deal processes underway and involving private equity, either on the buy- or sell-side, across Europe.

Permira, Providence and KKR are considering placing bids for Hg-backed Citation, Mergermarket reported on 6 March. Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, BC Partners and Inflexion are also said to be competing for the compliance service, which could be valued at £500-600m.

A unit of Goldman Sachs is considering purchasing a stake in Permira, the Wall Street Journal reported on 6 March. The talks are for a potential minority stake purchase valued at around €618m. Other suitors floated around the process included affiliates of Blackstone Group and Neuberger Berman Group's Dyal Capital Partners.

France

Indicative bids for the sale of Cyrillus-Vertbaudet Group, a children's clothing retail business owned by Alpha Group, are expected to be submitted by the end of the month, Mergermarket reported on 6 March. More than 10 PE players and strategic buyers have received information memoranda for the business, which is being marketed based on an €18m 2019 EBITDA. The group was acquired by Alpha Group in 2013 for €119m.

IK Investment Partners is gearing up to exit nursing homes operator Colisee, Capital Finance reported on 5 March. Bidders mentioned for the Lazard-run process include Antin IP, Macquarie, EQT Partners, CVC Capital Partners, and a consortium led by HLD and Predica. Colisee could be valued at €1.5bn.

DACH

Buy-siders are struggling to get their heads around the potential impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the sale of D&B Audiotechink, an Ardian-backed German audio equipment manufacturer, leading to some bidders leaving the race, Mergermarket reported on 5 March. Despite this, the sell-side is pressing on with the auction as planned. BC Partners, Onex Partners and Providence Equity Partners have advanced into the final round, Mergermarket reported.

EQT, Ardian and PAI are among several parties to have advanced into the final bidding round for German hygiene products manufacturer Schuelke, Mergermarket reported on 5 March. The auction for the Air Liquide-owned asset, run by JP Morgan, is primarily targeting financial sponsors. The company is marketed based on an EBITDA range of €50-70m, for an EV of €750m-1bn.

Southern Europe

Private equity firms PAI Partners, Pamplona Capital Management and Partners Group have reached the next stage of talks to buy Bridgepoint-backed Portuguese agri-chemical business Rovensa, according to Spanish newspaper Cinco Dias. Rovensa is reportedly worth around €1bn.

Sicer, an Italy-based producer of ceramic colours for industrial and artistic markets, is working with K Finance to find a majority investor to fund its M&A plans, Mergermarket reported on 6 March. Preliminary offers are due on 13 March, with teasers sent out to private equity firms and industry players.

Nordic

MB Funds plans to exit its Finnish paper packaging company Kotkamills in a sale process slated for H2 2020, Mergermarket reported on 25 February. Macquarie Capital will be guiding the vendor in an auction that is likely to focus on the portfolio company's eco-friendly offering of products to the packaging and food services market to justify a price tag as high as €500m.

CEE

Polish lender mBank's sale by Germany's Commerzbank, its controlling shareholder, is uncertain, according to a Puls Biznesu report on 4 March. More than a month has passed since the submission of the initial bids. Polish lender Pekao, as well as Apollo and Blackstone, announced their interest in acquiring mBank, but Commerzbank has only been considering the Pekao offer and has not yet allowed the Polish lender to conduct due diligence.