Industri Kapital it is no longer candidate

Final sprint in the LBO market before the summer recess. While the banks financing to leverage are preparing to close their window for the month of August, records of sale of investment funds multiply.

Tuesday, BC Partners opens the first round of the sale of the Picard frozen, valued at the top of range around 1.5 billion euros and which it has 71. The amount involved, which assumes a half capital intake, is accessible from de facto to the only big investment funds or industrial. Lion Capital, funds specializing in the retail and already owner of Findus, must submit an offer. And HVAC, the past shareholder of a Dutch company of frozen fish. French Eurazeo, loop in parallel the sale of the Group of Hotel B & B for a worth EUR 450 million, is also on the ranks. Family Decelle, founder of Picard and the last operational leader was ousted in 2008, would also strengthen the capital at this time. On the other hand, family Swiss Maus and Nestlé would be more on the record. Similarly, the Advent, Cinven and Carlyle investment fund are more expected.

Highly selective banks

The sale of Picard however conceals a series of other disposals of businesses, whose processes are concentrated on the last two weeks of July. Activa Capital recently launched the sale of jams and compotes Materne with a first round expected by the end of the month (read below).

In a related sector to the popular Pom' friends for children, CIC Finance and the Descours family established the first round of transfer of the Béaba childcare specialist. Until end of July, LBO France also hopes to finally complete the sale of the manufacturer of biscuits in white mark for the large distribution Poult Capvest Fund or Oaktree. Industri Kapital, it is no longer candidate. The company, which is negotiating an acquisition amounting to one third of its turnover in Poland, is valued around EUR 300 million. The process is delayed by the closure of bank financing.

The list does not stop there. LBO France must also finalize the sale for more than 1 billion euros of the Medi-partner clinics operator before August. An amount that will mobilize, concurrently to Picard, the great fund LBO. Apax and Blackstone, who hold similar (Capio and Vitalia) companies are active on this issue, which is the main lever to play on the consolidation of the sector. Finally after the firm offers mid-June, Shell must make by the end of the week his arbitration on the buyer of Butagaz, valued around 600 to 800 million euros, and for which the Fund Advent and the Brazilian Group Ultragaz were racing in mind.

A contingent of these assignments could not lead before the summer. The banks are highly selective. "We do participate more equally in all processes of sales as in the years 2006-2007, but only our appreciation and our historical knowledge of the file", one of them said. Re-entry, the gully could even shrink with other issues of scale, as the launch of the process of assignment of Quick (around 800 million euros), therefore leading to new reports of transactions.