Private equity firm IK Investment Partners (IK) is to acquire Groupe NetCo (NetCo), a specialist in preventive and curative maintenance of belt and roller conveyors.
NetCo will be the fifth acquisition for IK’s Small Cap II Fund, which targets growing businesses within the Benelux, DACH, France, and the Nordics. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.
Founded in 1902 in France, NetCo has grown to become a European specialist in conveyor systems across key industries including quarries, food and heavy goods.
Through its three business units; NetCo Services, NetCo Distribution, NetCo Systems, NetCo holds a leading position on the maintenance of conveyor markets for both services and distribution, and has become a strategic partner for customers by supporting critical parts of their industrial processes. NetCo is headquartered in Bordeaux and operates 55 agencies with 500 employees across France. The business has a further presence across Belgium and Luxembourg, and a foothold in North Africa (Morocco), the Middle East (Bahrain) and South East Asia (Indonesia).
To meet ever-growing European demand of outsourced maintenance services and initiate their international expansion, NetCo managers (Samuel and James Perriez) partnered with WINCH Capital 3, a fund managed by Andera Partners, through a primary growth capital transaction at the end of 2016. NetCo adopted a strong acquisitive strategy, most recently acquiring ABM TECNA, a Belgium conveyor system specialist in 2017. The company has completed 32 transactions since 2000, 14 of which in the past three years. This partnership enabled the group to double its size within two years.
Pierre Gallix, Partner at IK, says: “We are delighted to partner with NetCo, business with a diverse and competitive product offering and a phenomenal legacy which spans more than a century. We are especially impressed with the company’s track record of integrating bolt-on businesses and the breadth of its longstanding management team. We look forward to working with them to help NetCo become the number one player in the European conveyor belt service market.”
Arnaud Bosc, Partner at IK, adds: “NetCo’s multi-brand offering and high-quality solutions have contributed to the company’s outstanding reputation across multiple industries. We are delighted to work with NetCo and look forward to supporting the business as it continues to expand its global presence.”
Samuel Perriez, President of NetCo, says: “Thanks to the support of Andera Partners, the company has been able to achieve remarkable growth in France and in Belgium over the last three years. IK’s support of NetCo paves the way for new international ambitions”
James Perriez, CEO of NetCo, adds: “We are excited to be partnering with IK as we enter the next stage of our growth strategy. IK’s track record of investing in industrials paired with their strong European roots make them the perfect partner to help our business expand its presence while staying true to our local roots.”
François-Xavier Mauron and Antoine Le Bourgeois, Partners at Andera Partners, says: “The change of scale of NetCo from a leading French player to a pan-European champion over only two years illustrates perfectly the DNA of the WINCH Capital team as a hands-on investor and partner to management. We are excited to welcome IK and further accompany Samuel and James Perriez for the next cycle of growth of NetCo.”
The closing of the transaction is conditioned to the approval by the French Antitrust authorities.
