Leaders League. You raised your last fund
in 2015. What was the context of the fun-
draising and what type of companies are
you going to support?
Guillaume Jacqueau. Our last vehicle,
Equistone PEF V, yielded €2bn, excee-
ding its initial hard cap of €1.75bn. This
amount is also more significant than we
reached for its predecessor in 2012, the
fund IV (€1.5bn). We could have netted
more money but instead chose to reduce
a few LPs so as to stay close to the hard
cap. Historically, as a former subsidiary
of Barclays, we have a real
proximity with the En-
glish market. But we are
fundamentally European:
our business model is ap-
plied equally across France,
Germany and the UK. We
do not plan to expand
anywhere else for now.
This six-month fundraising
is quite special because it
is the first that collected a
majority of non-European
commitments (53%). We
plan to invest in companies
valued between €50m and
€300m.Leaders League. How do you evaluate the
past year considering the few acquisitions
and numerous exits you made?
G. J. Nine buyouts and fifteen sales have
been made since January 2014. This is
a strong activity for the mid-market. In
France for example, three acquisitions
were made, which shows how equally
spread our business is among the coun-
tries we are in. Averys, Sicame, and Me-
caplast constitute the latest additions to
our portfolio. Actually, we were already
present in Sicame but only as a minority
shareholder, so we decided to sell and
reinvest as a lead partner.
Sicame is a very interesting case which
had all the requirements to be a good
primary LBO: lengthy work was handledby the company founders and the first in-
vestors on the business operations. Next,
the globalization was initiated, then a new
management full of ideas came in, and the
sponsor, Equistone as was the case in this
instance, decided to support Sicame with
financial leverage. Deal-making is some-
times surprising, even for ourselves: you
discuss with external industrialists and
investors until you realize you are actually
the best backup for the company. We came
to that conclusion last summer. The firm,
Sicame, specialized in carrying electricity
and sensitive material, ge-
nerated €360m in revenue
in 2015.Leaders League. On the
sell side, what should be
remembered of these last
months?
G. J. Our most successful
exits are undoubtedly La
Toulousaine (manufacturer
of grids, portals, electric
gates...) and Coventya (spe-
cialized in chemical solu-
tions for cleaning floors),
whose multiples were
highly satisfying. We stay very pragmatic
on the sell side: some portfolio companies
are quickly sold while others, as was the
case with the latter, need more time. In
certain cases, we think exit multiples are
more important than IRR.Leaders League. You also have compa-
nies from the fund 3 to offload, Compin
notably?
G. J. Yes, this group is a good example.
Having suffered a lot in 2010-2011, it is
now back on its feet and in very good
condition. Build up definitely helped it
strengthen its European position on the
passenger seat and luggage carrier manu-
facturing market for city buses and trains.
Although Compin is not for sale, we have
already received a few calls from potential
acquirers.Established in 1979 by former executives of Barclay’s Private Equity (BPE), Equistone
Partners Europe is one of the major investment firms in Europe in the mid-market segment.
Guillaume Jacqueau, Equistone France’s President gives an in-depth analysis of the firms
recent performance and decodes its strategy.“In certain cases, we think exit multiples
are more important than IRR”
GUILLAUME JACQUEAU
Managing Partner, EQUISTONE
PARTNERS EUROPE
“NINE BUYOUTS AND
FIFTEEN SALES HAVE
BEEN MADE SINCE
JANUARY 2014”EXPRESS BIO
Guillaume Jacqueau is the Managing
Partner of Equistone and Head of its Paris
office, as well as a member of the European
Investment Committee. Prior to joining the
firm in 1995, he gained experience in private
equity at Banexi (from 1989) and mezzanine
finance at Euromezzanine.
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