News | France

Friday 28th April 2006

The Paprec group is restructuring its capital and supplementing its financial capacity in the context of an MBO (management buy out) transaction.  This transaction, led by Banexi Capital Partenaires together with Demeter Partners and Naxicap Partners, involves:

- an investment on a scale of € 35 million by the financial investors,

- the acquisition of 100% of the capital of Paprec SA by an acquisition holding, Paprec Invest, controlled by Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, the group’s director, the S3P Group, the group's long-standing shareholder, and by the holding company of Claude Solarz, and

- the exit of the initial financial investors (Société Générale and Crédit Agricole groups).

In 10 years, the Paprec group, managed by its founder Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, became one of the foremost French players in the recycling trades (paper, plastic, everyday industrial waste, site waste, separate collection, wood, etc.).

Headquartered in La Courneuve, the group employs 1,100 people and in 2005 made turnover of more than €200 million.  It has 24 sites (20 classified and certified facilities) on the territory of France.  Jean-Luc Petithuguenin’s ambition is to continue his group’s development to make it a structuring player of the recycling business in France.  The transaction was completed at an enterprise value of more than € 150 million.  This transaction saw Mr Petithuguenin increase his holding in the capital without a cash out. The implementation by BNP Paribas and Crédit Lyonnais of structured bank indebtedness enabling significant external growth in future years is worthy of note. Paprec plans to be listed on a stock market in the coming years.

The S3P group, which unites most of the players of the French press, is taking advantage of this transaction to increase its stake to 15% in the Paprec group and is proud to “participate in the development of a French leader in the recycling business”.

Investors

- Banexi Capital Partenaires: Yann Collignon, Nicolas Cosson

- Demeter Partners (fund specialising in the environment, sponsor CDC): Olivier Dupont, Sophie Paturle Guesnerot

- Naxicap Partners (Natexis Banques Populaires group): Paul Moutinho, Isabelle Guérin

Banks

- BNP Paribas, BDDF Entreprises – Financements Structurés, Mandated Arranger, organised the financing of the senior acquisition debt, the refinancing of the existing indebtedness and the new investment capacities: Pierre-Marie Fourier, Hélène Faure, Ghislaine Pointin, Dorothée Julliand.

- Crédit Lyonnais, co-Arranger: Michel Siciliano, Bernard Bullet, Frédéric Brette.

Advisor to the company

- Ernst & Young Corporate Finance: Rudy Cohen Scali, Philippe Lajat, Marc Picard.

Advisor on the purchase to Banexi Capital Partenaires

- Financière de Courcelles: Jane Coblence.

Legal Advisors

- SJ Berwin, advisor to the investors and the mezzanine debt providers: Christophe Digoy and Thomas Maitrejean (Equity), Colin Millar (mezzanine), Hervé Pillard (debt), Patrick Guarda (Tax).

- Delsol et Associés, advisor to the sellers and the contributors: Jean-Philippe Delsol, Emmanuel Kaeppelin, Michel Zavalichine.

Audit

- Grant Thorton: Jean-Luc Carpentier, Sylvie Duhalt.