Perfectis Private Equity, a French lower mid-market private equity firm has sold IT hardware and software rental company Factum Finance to three Natixis funds, Naxicap Partners, Spef LBO a
Perfectis Private Equity, a French lower mid-market private equity firm has sold IT hardware and software rental company Factum Finance to three Natixis funds, Naxicap Partners, Spef LBO and Eurocapital, through a limited auction run by Aforge Finance.
During the two years since its investment in June 2005, Perfectis says, it and the company’s management headed by Philippe Durst and Benoît Zimmermann have increased Factum’s market coverage in southern France with the acquisition of Infolease, professionalised its management and governance and improved reporting and management processes.
The original senior debt providers were involved in the sale to the Natixis funds through a stapled financing package arranged by SNBV with Banque Palatine.
Factum was founded by Durst and Zimmermann in 1995 and has become the second-ranking independent IT hardware and software rental company in France. It expects to post turnover of EUR96m this year.
Perfectis has also announced the add-on acquisition of Hyster Nacco Material Handling Distribution by its portfolio company Philippe Manutention, part of the Amonite Group, from the US group Nacco.
Philippe Manutention is a leader in the sale and rental of Hyster forklifts in France, particularly in the north of the country, and forecasts turnover of EUR55m this year. Hyster Nacco Material Handling Distribution, which targets industrial customers in central and south-east France, will be renamed Amonite Sud-Est. The company, which has 180 staff, posted turnover of EUR44m last year.
The acquisition makes the Amonite Group the largest retailer of Hyster forklifts in France, offering ad hoc merchandise transfer and warehousing solutions as well as maintenance and material fleet management. The group now has 450 staff, 6,000 forklifts in long-term and 1,400 in short-term rental contracts and 2,000 new items released each year, and expects to report total pro-forma turnover of EUR100m for 2007.
The acquisition was carried out by Perfectis with Amonite chairman Bernard Matton and chief executive Stéphane Bélliard. Says the private equity firm’s Stéphane Bergez: ‘This acquisition allows Amonite to achieve objectives in its original business plan and confirms Perfectis’s expertise in the rental and service sectors.’
Perfectis Private Equity focuses on management buyouts, build-ups and development capital transactions for companies with turnover between EUR15m and EUR150m, and manages two funds, Perfectis I and Perfectis II, with total assets of EUR202m. Investors include French credit risk insurance firm Euler-SFAC and institutional investors from the Benelux countries, France, Germany, North America, Scandinavia, Switzerland and the UK.
The Perfectis investment team has completed more than 60 transactions between 1990 and 2007. Since the firm was established in 2000, Perfectis has completed 26 investments and 27 add-on acquisitions, including 10 investments for Perfectis II since January 2006.
