At the same time, Batiweb has acquired Habitat Trade to expand its geographical footprint and gain high value-added expertise. This deal has given rise to the Batiweb Group. The combined Group posted sales of close to €10 million.
Omnes Capital has conducted a capital development transaction as a minority core investor in the Batiweb Group following pre-emptive discussions that rapidly turned into exclusive negotiations thanks to Omnes Capital’s industry knowledge and its close relationship with the Manager and with Ardian Growth, the Company’s longstanding shareholder. With backing from Matmut Innovation and other co-investors, Omnes Capital’s Small Cap funds supported this LBO, which saw Nicolas Ricart, the founder and manager, significantly increase his holding to become the majority shareholder.
Founded in 2005, the Batiweb Group is France’s number two digital portal bringing building trade professionals together with consumers, predominantly in the home renovation segment. Batiweb is active in three complementary areas – intermediation, media and B2B services. Between 2013 and 2016, the Group more than doubled its revenues and tripled its profitability by developing and enriching its expertise and its new content through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions.
In a home renovation market undergoing a digital transformation for both professionals and consumers, the Batiweb Group stands out as a partner thanks to its strong reputation among tradespeople, and its founding manager who is reinvesting close to 100% of his sale proceeds. It also boasts attractive development prospects given its sources of organic growth and a continuing policy of selective acquisitions in France and abroad.
The Group is in advanced discussions to perform further external growths mostly in France but also abroad. It aims to triple its revenues over the next four years.
“We originally invested in Batiweb with the objective together with Nicolas Ricart of making it a leader in its marketplace. We are delighted to have achieved that goal and pleased to see that its growth will continue with another high-quality partner”, explained Romain Chiudini, Senior Investment Manager at Ardian Growth.
“Ardian Growth provided us with substantial support while we were first building the Company. Based on this experience, I firmly believed in that it makes good sense to partner with Omnes Capital given its sector knowledge and expertise in industry consolidation through multiple external growths. Our Group can now use these additional financial resources to play a leading role in sector concentration and to speed up its ambitious development plan”, stated Nicolas Ricart, Chairman of the Batiweb Group.
“We had the opportunity to go through friendly discussions with Nicolas Ricart aimed at sharing the same development views of Batiweb and allowing the financial investors to monetise their holding while injecting fresh impetus into the Group’s expansion. The Group’s growth and profitability profile has primed it to play the role of consolidator in the sector through external growths in France and overseas and the recruitment of key talent to support its manager”, explained Frédéric Mimoun, Director at Omnes Capital.
Nicolas Gomart, Chief Executive Officer of Matmut Group and Chairman of Matmut Innovation, added: “The home is one of the priority areas for our Group, which currently manages close to 2.2 million home insurance policies. Matmut Innovation is the Group unit handling acquisitions of shareholdings and financing the development of start-ups providing technological innovations for the insurance value chain. With this deal we are again demonstrating our determination to deliver on our commitment to provide high-quality services to consumers and businesses, with a focus on the home.”
Banque Populaire Atlantique, is providing its support to Omnes Capital with a conservatively structured buyout and highly competitive by Batiweb that it has financed over many years. BNP has joined the syndicate of banks.
About Omnes Capital
Omnes Capital is a major player in private equity and infrastructure. With €3 billion in assets under management, Omnes capital provides companies with the capital needed to finance their growth and with key expertise in a number of areas: Buyout & Growth Capital, Private Debt, Venture Capital, Infrastructure. Omnes Capital was a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole until March 2012. The firm is now owned by its employees. Omnes Capital is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
About Ardian
Founded in 1996 and headed by Dominique Senequier, Ardian is an independent private investment firm that advises and/or manages $60 billion of assets in Europe, North America and Asia. The company, which is majority-owned by its employees, has always placed entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of its approach and offers its international investors investment performance while participating in the growth of companies around the world. Ardian's investment philosophy is based on three pillars: excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship. Ardian relies on a solid international network, with more than 450 employees working in twelve offices in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid, Zurich, New York, San Francisco, Beijing, Singapore, Jersey and Luxembourg. The company offers its 580 investors a diversified selection of funds covering the entire asset class, with Ardian Fund of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Ardian Private Debt, Ardian Buyout (including Ardian Mid Cap Buyout Europe & North America, Ardian Expansion, Ardian Growth and Ardian Co-Investment), Ardian Infrastructure, Ardian Real Estate and Ardian Mandates.
About the Matmut Group
With more than 3,2 million members and almost 6,8 million insurance contracts managed (at 31 december 2016), the Matmut Group has become a major actor on the French insurance market. It is in a position to provide all-comers – private individuals, professionals, enterprises and associations – with a full range of insurance products covering people and property (cars, motorbikes, boats, housing, responsabilities, family protection, healthcare, legal protection and assistance) along with financial and saving services (including automobile and consumer credit, loan insurance, savings books and life insurance). The Group has 6,200 employees. It recorded a turnover of 1,8 billion euros in 2015.
About Batiweb
The Batiweb Group creates websites and devises services for all building trade and home improvement businesses. The company is built around two businesses – media developed around Batiweb.com, the leading brand in the sector, and establishment of relationships between consumers and industry professionals – together with innovative services to support businesses setting out their stall online. The business aims to become an international multi-services group providing genuine expertise to the market by developing high value-added offerings for all those active in home improvement, from consumers to businesses. The Batiweb Group is currently majority-owned by its management and intends to surround itself with the best people to realise its expertise, service and performance objectives.
Participants
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Omnes Capital
- Frédéric Mimoun (Director), Antoine Joris (Associate)
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Matmut Group
- Nicolas Gomart (Chief Executive Officer - Matmut Group), Maud Duval (Chief Executive Officer – Matmut Innovation)
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Ardian Growth
- Romain Chiudini (Senior Investment Manager)
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Advisors to the buyers
- LL.Berg: Olivier Abergel, Gaelle Quillivic, Nathalie Jacquart, Yohan Jabbour Gédéon
- Oderis: Thomas Claverie, Lan Chau
- Euclyd: Pascal Brochard, Claire Gourlier, Claire Baret
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Ardian Advisors & Manager
- Vulcain: Michael Schor, Pierre Roche, Antoine Larger
- Gaftarnik, Le Douarin & Associés: Mickael Lévi
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Financing
- Banque Populaire Atlantique: Emmanuel Golab
- BNP Paribas: Elisabeth Castanheira
Press contact
Omnes Capital