LIST OF PARTICIPANTS – SELL-SIDE (Ardian and Argos Wityu’s Press Release)
Argos Wityu: Gilles Mougenot, Thomas Ribéreau, Pierre Dumas
Canaccord Genuity (Olivier Dardel, Lucas Vuillemin, Mohamed Sagou)
Commercial and strategic DD: Emerton (Sébastien Plessis, François De Leo)
Legal advisors: Mayer Brown (Thomas Philippe, Clotilde Billat)
Financial DD: Eight Advisory (Eric Demuyt, Jean-Sébastien Rabus, Victor Heilweck)
Tax advisors: Arsène Taxand (Brice Picard)
January 16 2019 (Press Release) – Emerton acted as sell-side strategic advisor for Argos Wityu
ARDIAN ENTERS INTO EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATIONS TO SUPPORT REVIMA, A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE AEROSPACE MRO SECTOR, IN ITS DEVELOPMENT ALONGSIDE ARGOS WITYU
Paris, January, 16, 2019 – Ardian, a world leading private investment house announces that it is in exclusive talks to acquire a majority stake in Revima, a leading MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul) solutions provider for aircraft equipment, from private equity firm, Argos Wityu. Following the transaction, Olivier Legrand, President of the Group, and Argos Wityu will reinvest alongside Ardian. This transaction is subject to approval from the antitrust authorities as well as the opinion of the works council.
Founded in 1952, Revima is an independent company which has become a leader in the maintenance, repair and overhaul of commercial transport aircraft equipment. The group is well-known for its expertise in the maintenance of auxiliary power units (APU) and landing gears for regional, medium and long-haul aircraft. The company, which has c.750 employees, realized revenues of more than €280 million in 2018, showing double digit growth for several years.
Revima is active in a fast-growing market driven by the continued increase of aircrafts in service worldwide. The group is ideally positioned to continue this development following investment in its French site, the construction of a new industrial site in Thailand which will be operational in 2020, and the pursuit of a bolt-on acquisition strategy. In this regard, Revima is currently in exclusive negotiations for two acquisitions aimed at strengthening its skillsets in repairing engine parts and in the field of advanced predictive maintenance.
Yann Bak, Managing Director at Ardian Buyout, said: “We are very pleased to be associated with the teams at Revima, a fast-growing company positioned in a very promising niche market. We will use our experience and network to expand the group’s international presence and further accelerate its commercial development.”
Olivier Legrand, President and CEO of Revima added: “Our rapid development these last years and the existing and future opportunities for both internal and external growth make us particularly enthusiastic about Revima’s prospects. We are delighted with Ardian’s investment alongside Argos Wityu, as we share common values and entrepreneurial cultures. Our priority is for Revima to become a global player, expanding its skills and know-how into new areas, and be closer to its customers.”
Gilles Mougenot, partner at Argos Wityu concluded: “Revima perfectly illustrates a situation where we helped position the company into new areas of growth. The objective we set ourselves in 2015 was to simplify the shareholder structure while opening it up to employees, help build a supportive management team, and from 2017, invest significantly in the business, notably internationally.”
ABOUT REVIMA
Revima is a leading independent MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul) solutions provider, specialized in APUs, Engine Parts and Landing Gears, for civil and military aircraft through five dedicated services: Repair & Overhaul, Engine Parts Repair, Material Solutions, Fleet Management and Leasing.
With committed and passionate employees across locations in France, Asia, North America and the Middle East, Revima boasts over 60 years of MRO expertise. Revima supports aircraft operators, lessors, and repair stations worldwide, is an EASA & FAA Part 145 certified organization, and has approvals from numerous agencies.
ABOUT ARDIAN
Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$82bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.
Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.
Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 550 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of around 750 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
ABOUT ARGOS WITYU
Argos Wityu funds take majority stakes between €10m and €100m in companies with revenues from €20m to €600m.
Our investment philosophy aims at creating value through business transformation and growth, instead of financial leverage, and bringing solutions to complex situations: MBI, spin-offs, strategic repositioning, shareholding conflicts… We work in close relationship with management teams, with a strong sense of transparency, trust, entrepreneurship and social responsibility.
Argos Wityu is a member of Invest Europe as well as national associations in France (France Invest), Italy (AIFI), Switzerland (SECA) and BVA (Belgium). Argos Wityu SAS is regulated by the AMF and is AIFMD compliant.
March 2017 (Press Release) – Emerton acted as buy-side strategic advisor for Argos Wityu
Revima Group is a leading independent aerospace Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) service provider, primarily focused on Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) & Landing Gear products. The group is a provider in the aerospace commercial and military fields, and offers comprehensive service solutions (logistics, on site support, by the hour solutions …). It operates essentially from its historic facility located in Caudebec-en-Caux, Normandy, France, and has commercial and customer support offices in Asia, the USA, and the Middle East. It employs over 600 employees and generated in 2016 revenues in excess of 200 million euros.
“We are delighted with the opportunity to contribute to the next chapter of the promising future of Revima Group which operates in an environment of high technical qualifications, where it’s know-how and excellent reputation have provided the Group with a strong position. Our ambition is to contribute to position the company into new growth areas to make this beautiful French company a leader and international pioneer in its sector”, said Gilles Mougenot, Chairman of Argos Soditic Partners.
Acquirer: ARGOS SODITIC, Gilles Mougenot, MANAGERS, Christian Grzanka, Olivier Legrand
Acq. Strategic Advisor: EMERTON, Sébastien Plessis, Pascal Simon
Acq. Lawyer: MAYER BROWN, Xavier Jaspar, Thomas Philippe
Acq. Tax Lawyer: ARSENE TAXAND, Frédéric Donnedieu De Vabres
Acq. Financial Due Diligence: EIGHT ADVISORY , Eric Demuyt, Jean-Sébastien Rabus
