PARIS, Sept. 29,2015 /PRNewswire/ --European Capital announced today that an affiliate has invested €25 million in unitranche bonds to support the acquisition of Unipex Europe Solutions ("Unipex", or "the Group") by its management team, CEO Patrice Barthelmes, COO Frédéric Ivsic and CSO Jean Mazeres.
Unipex is a leading European distributor of active ingredients and specialty chemicals for the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, nutrition and industrial and fine chemistry sectors. Founded in 1968, Unipex has a longstanding presence in its core markets and, in particular, in France through a broad array of ingredients and raw materials sourced from top worldwide chemical manufacturers. This historical presence has enabled Unipex's management to build a large portfolio of loyal customers that value their distribution partnership due to Unipex's strong knowledge of product chain development and logistics chain management, technical competencies and market knowledge as well as its marketing and customer services. Over recent years, Unipex has strengthened its position in Benelux and Africa through both organic developments and add-on acquisitions.
European Capital and its affiliated funds have been a financial partner of Unipex since 2008 through the financing of Unipex by Ardian and the subsequent acquisition by IK Investment Partners in 2012. Through its two previous investments in Unipex, European Capital and its affiliated funds realized from 2008 to 2012 a 1.5x money multiple and 14.2% internal rate of return, and from 2012 to July 2015 a c. 1.4x money multiple and 16.1% internal rate of return.
"As a long-term Unipex partner, European Capital is very impressed by the development of the company over the past years as a result of its ability to consistently find new growth levers," stated Etienne Haubold, Managing Director at European Capital Debt Management Limited.
"Unipex is led by an exceptional management team and we are looking forward to supporting their new growth projects," stated Guillaume Claire, Investment Director at European Capital Debt Management Limited.
Patrice Barthelmes, CEO of Unipex, said, "European Capital has been very supportive of Unipex's expansion for the past seven years. We appreciate their extensive knowledge of the company and its sector, which will continue to prove useful in future developments."
Frédéric Ivsic, COO of Unipex, added, "As majority shareholders of Unipex, the management team is very excited for European Capital's financing, as we believe their commitment will allow us to capture future market potential and further grow the core distribution business in France, as well as Benelux and Africa."
ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL
European Capital, both directly and through its asset management business, invests in pan-European equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments. European Capital is a wholly-owned affiliate of American Capital, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS). European Capital manages €0.9 billion of assets.
European Capital invests in and sponsors management and employee buyouts, invests in private equity buyouts and provides capital directly to private and public companies headquartered predominantly in Europe. European Capital will consider senior, mezzanine, subordinated and unitranche debt investment opportunities from 10 million to 100 million in either euros or sterling and up to 300 million for One Stop Buyouts®. For further information, please refer to www.EuropeanCapital.com.
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL
American Capital, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS) is a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager. American Capital, both directly and through its asset management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate, energy & infrastructure and structured products. American Capital manages $23 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with $81 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets). Through a wholly-owned affiliate, American Capital manages publicly traded American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC), American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: MTGE) and American Capital Senior Floating, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACSF) with approximately $11 billion of total net book value. From its eight offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia, American Capital and European Capital will consider investment opportunities from $10 million to $600 million. For further information, please refer to www.AmericanCapital.com.
Contact: European Capital Debt Management Limited + 33 1 40 68 06 66
Etienne Haubold, Managing Director
Guillaume Claire, Investment Director
