Sagard Private Equity signed today an agreement with PAI Partners to sell it control of Kiloutou, on the basis of an enterprise value of € 535m. The final assignment remains subject to the agreement of the competition authorities. Sagard, like the historical shareholders, Mr. F. Mulliez and the company’s employees, will reinvest with the PAI.
Since 2005, under the impulse of its shareholders, Kiloutou had received a clear objective: to accelerate its development. The steady reinvestment of cash flows in new rental equipment and new branches has borne fruit: in five years, Kiloutou has grown from 157 to 283 branches, turnover increased from € 188m to € 292m and EBITDA from € 43m to € 76m. This remarkable performance, over a time horizon marked by an unprecedented economic crisis, makes Kiloutou the most dynamic equipment rental company in Europe.
The significant reinvestment of existing shareholders in the new operation demonstrates their strong confidence in Kiloutou’s continued strong growth: the rental sector is indeed very buoyant, as this solution regularly takes market shares in the purchase of equipment; the positioning of Kiloutou is solid as a French leader in the rental of small equipment; many growth drivers remain to be exploited: continued opening of branches, development of new distribution channels and services, acquisitions and international development.
“I am delighted to be able to continue the development of this beautiful company, in a dynamic LBO very positive, which has just demonstrated that strong value creation could rhyme with development and sharing, nearly 450 employees participated in the operation. I am pleased to begin a new phase of our development with our new majority shareholder, PAI, while continuing our history with our current shareholders.“
Xavier du Boÿs, Chairman of the Management Board of Kiloutou
“Kiloutou’s unique corporate culture (propelled by Franky Mulliez over the last 30 years) and the impressive dynamism of the teams count so much for the success of this first operation. Sagard is delighted to be associated with this growth project.”
Antoine Ernoult-Dairaine, Partner of Sagard
“With management and all shareholders, we have the ambition to bring Kiloutou into a new phase of its development, notably by accelerating its external growth and launching its international business; PAI is pleased to be able to support this new development project.“
Nicolas Holzman, Partner of PAI