MANAMA: Arcapita Bank has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Compagnie européenne de Prestations logistiques (CEPL), a leading warehouse logistics service provider, from the French private-equity firm Sagard and the current management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed but the deal ranks as the largest LBO France this year.
CEPL, headquartered in Béville le Comte, France, operates across 23 sites in France and Germany, and has approximately 2,200 employees. Founded 10 years ago, the company provides clients with a single managed central location from which it prepares detailed orders for individual retail outlets on a national, pan-European or global basis.
The current management team, led by Thierry Ortmans, chief executive officer and founder, and Akim Lamrani, chief operating officer, will continue in their current roles and have increased their equity investment in the business. Atif A. Abdulmalik, Arcapita CEO, said “This is one of the few transactions of this size in Europe to have secured LBO financing in these tough market conditions which attests to the quality of the business as well as the strong reputation that the bank has built within Europe.” The bank managed the transaction out of its London office.
Mounzer Nasr, head of Arcapita’s European corporate investments, added: “Through their dedication to exceptional levels of service and operational excellence, Thierry Ortmans and his highly motivated management team have built up a very high-quality portfolio of customers within a short timeframe. The bank currently owns more than 5 million square meters of industrial warehouse facilities globally, and the acquisition of CEPL has the potential for significant synergies with our existing portfolio of logistics investments.
“We look forward to working with the current management team and employees, and investing in CEPL’s next phase of growth.” Arcapita’s portfolio of industrial warehouses is one of Europe’s largest and has recently added Pinnacle, a fast-growing industrial warehouse developer and operator in central and eastern Europe to its existing investments in the sector.
Ortmans said: “We are extremely pleased to have secured investment from an international partner of the caliber of Arcapita. This is an important milestone in the development of CEPL, and we believe that with their experience in the sector, the bank will be a valuable partner as we continue the international growth of the company.” Financing for the transaction was provided by a consortium of banks including RBS Calyon and ING.
