European Capital and its consolidated subsidiaries have received proceeds of EUR28.8m from exiting their two investments in Alliance Industrie and Financiere Alliance Industrie (Alliance Automotive Group).
European Capital's exit comes as Alliance Automotive Group's shareholders have decided to refinance its indebtedness with a EUR185m high-yield private bond.
European Capital realised a 1.8x money multiple and 11 per cent IRR on its investment in Alliance Industrie and a 1.1x money multiple and 24 per cent IRR on its investment in Financiere Alliance Industrie.
The company, owned by Weinberg Capital Partners and its founders since 2006, serves as a key link between its referenced automotive spare parts suppliers and a broad network of nearly 1,500 distribution outlets in France and the UK, of which 160 are fully owned. Alliance Automotive Group is now the number one automotive spare parts distributor in the French market and the number two in the UK market.
European Capital supported the Weinberg buy-out in 2006 by providing EUR6m of second lien and EUR13m of mezzanine. In 2013, European Capital financed the acquisition of Precisium Groupe, a direct competitor of Alliance Industrie, through an additional EUR4m of mezzanine.
"We are very pleased with the outcome of this transaction," says Tristan Parisot, managing director of European Capital Financial Services Limited. "This investment fits with our strategy of backing leading companies that consolidate within their market and have strong and committed management teams".
"European Capital was a strong and supportive financing partner over the last seven years," says Jean-Jacques Lafont, president of Alliance Automotive Group. "They were committed to our growth strategy and arranged mezzanine financing for our acquisition of Precisium Groupe earlier in the year."
"European Capital showed a deep understanding of the company's business and offered the flexible financing solutions we needed, especially for the acquisition of Precisium Groupe," says Philippe Klocanas, partner at Weinberg Capital Partners.
