The Deals Pipeline

Unquote team
22 February 2021

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

DACH

Sun European Partners is reviving a process to divest portfolio company Coveris's Labels & Board division, Mergermarket reported on 19 February. The Austria-based packaging products company will be looking to sell the unit as a whole and market it based on EBITDA in the €20-25m range. Baird and William Blair are co-mandated to sell the business.

Keepmoat Homes, a Doncaster-based housebuilder, is gearing up for a sale or public listing, which would value the company at £700-800m, Sky News reported on 18 February. The group's shareholders have appointed Barclays and Moelis to look into both processes. The company's owners, TDR Capital and Sun Capital, are in favour of both options.

General Atlantic has received inbound interest from financial investors for its 25% stake in market data and information provider Argus Media, Mergermarket reported on 18 February. General Atlantic could agree an exit with management this year ahead of a 2023 lock-in expiry, given investor appetite and robust valuation multiples for B2B information businesses. General Atlantic sold half of its 50% stake in Argus to buyout group Hg in 2019, valuing the company at more than £2bn.

France

The selective sale process of French over-the-counter pharma group Cooper has moved to the second round, admitting BC Partners, CVC, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) and PAI Partners, Mergermarket reported on 19 February. PAI has teamed up with OTPP to bid for the business. Cooper is being sold based on EBITDA of €150-155m, having recorded EBITDA of around €145m in 2020. The company could be valued at more than €2bn. While the sale is the main route, incumbent sponsor Charterhouse could still consider going down the recap route with a minority investor brought onboard.

Southern Europe

A media-rights newco deal between the Italian Football League (Serie A) and a private equity consortium made up of CVC, Advent and FSI has collapsed. Seven Serie A teams oppose the €1.7bn deal, which needed to be approved by 14 of the 20 top Italian football clubs involved, Reuters reported. The consortium had offered to acquire a 10% stake in the newco to manage Serie A's media business, but according to the seven clubs that have rejected the deal, an alternative deal could be sought.

Teak Capital is in the final stages of acquiring Cerealis, a Portuguese cereal processing company, Mergermarket reported on 18 February. The mulled transaction multiple of 11x EBITDA would be close to that of the recent acquisition of Pastas Gallo in Spain.

Benelux

Bergman Clinics, based in the Netherlands and backed by NPM, has admitted BC Partners and Triton to the second stage of its sale, Mergermarket reported on 19 February. Towerbrook Capital Partners, Cinven Partners and Bain Capital were tipped to submit first-round offers. NPM had hired JP Morgan and Axeco Corporate Finance to sell Bergman, whose ownership is split between NPM and the Malenstein family. The vendor is working on normalised EBITDA of around €60m for the company.

CEE

Czech investment group Penta Investments has conducted informal conversations testing conditions for a possible sale of its Czech sports betting company, Fortuna Entertainment Group, Mergermarket reported on 20 February. Parties were in discussion with Fortuna's owners throughout last year, though discussions have since gone quiet. Some bilateral discussions are still taking place. Penta has not appointed a sell-side adviser. Fortuna reported EBITDA of €82m and revenues of €335m for the financial year ending in 2018.