European private equity investment firm Oakley Capital is to sell a majority stake in atHome Group, a Luxembourg-based online classifieds and mortgage broking business, to Mayfair Equity Partners.
European private equity investment firm Oakley Capital is to sell a majority stake in atHome Group, a Luxembourg-based online classifieds and mortgage broking business, to Mayfair Equity Partners.
The atHome Group has established market positions in the online classifieds and mortgage broking markets in Luxembourg through its real estate and automotive websites atHome.lu and Luxauto.lu. As part of the transaction, Oakley Fund III will retain a minority stake in the business, alongside UK based buyout and growth capital investor Mayfair Equity Partners and the existing management team.
Fund III originally invested in atHome in 2017, as part of the acquisition of a portfolio of classifieds businesses, which included Casa.it in Italy and atHome.lu in Luxembourg. Under Oakley’s ownership, atHome has consolidated its position in its core property classifieds market, while expanding into mortgage broking and automotive classifieds through strategic bolt-on acquisitions. Over the three years of Oakley’s investment period, atHome has increased EBITDA by over 80 per cent and its websites are among the most visited in Luxembourg, according to the PE firm.
Following the transaction, Fund III will retain its stake in Casa, which continues to benefit from the growth in the Italian online property classifieds sector, as well as a minority stake in atHome, Oakley said in a statement.
The partnership with Mayfair and the existing management team will allow Fund III to participate in the future growth of atHome as it continues to expand on its market leading offering to consumers and customers, and deliver growth across its core property, mortgage and automotive verticals, the PE firm added.
Global law firm Paul Hastings LLP represented Oakley Capital on its disposal of the atHome Group to funds advised by Mayfair Equity Partners.
The Paul Hastings team included corporate partners Anu Balasubramanian and Matthew Poxon, senior associate Jamie Holdoway, and associates Giles Clifford and Hannah Lee, alongside tax partner Arun Birla, tax associates Hannah Gray and Abigail Hung, financing partner Richard Kitchen and financing associate Andrew Lowndes.
Elvinger Hoss Prussen advised on the Luxembourg law aspects of the transaction, led by corporate partner Karl Pardaens and associates Benoit Nerriec and Mathieu Robert. The management team was advised by K&L Gates, led by corporate partner James Cross.
Macquarie Capital acted as atHome’s financial adviser in connection with the deal.
