Juillet 2009 - Private Equity Magazine
* Recherche dette LBO désespérément
Article PE Magazine juil aout 2009.pdf
Mars 2009 - Hommes et Commerce Magazine (HEC)
* Le retour en force de la mezzanine
Article Hommes et Commerce fév mars 2009.pdf
Janvier 2009 - Private Equity Magazine
* League Table 2008
Article PE Magazine janv 2009.pdf
Juillet 2008 - Capital Finance
* IFE encadre la mezzanine mid-cap
Article Capital Finance juillet 2008.pdf
Juin 2008 - Private Equity Magazine
* League Table 2007
Article PE Magazine juin 2008.pdf
Novembre 2007 - Private Equity Exchange
* LBO from the point of view of a mezzanine fund
Article PE Exchange 2007.pdf
Octobre 2006 - Acquisition Finance Magazine
* Kermel completes recapitalisation
Kermel, the European leader in the meta-aramid fibres market and a portfolio company of private equity firm Argos Soditic, has completed a recapitalization.
Based in Colmar, in Alsace, France, Kermel specializes in meta-aramid fibres, which are used in heat- and flame- resistant protective clothing.
The debt package to support the transaction was led by BNP Paribas, with IFE Mezzanine providing mezzanine facilities from its IFE II Fund.
Kermel was spun off from Rhodia in a 2002 management buy-out led by Guy Semmens and Cedric Bruix of Argos Soditic. Since the buy-out Kermel has grown and diversified its product range into technical applications for flame retardants and industry.
The IFE Mezzanine deal team, which arranged a warranted Euro 8 m mezzanine tranche, was led by Managing Partner Régis Mitjavile and Senior Associate Olivier Dubs.
IFE II is a Euro 300 m mezzanine fund which focuses on mezzanine investments in continental Europe.
Olivier Dubs said: "We believe Kermel, as the leading European player in a niche market, is well positioned to benefit from the expected growth in its historical core market of protective clothing fibers, and that new applications such as technical uses offer attractive growth perspectives. We are confident in the strategy and vision of management and Argos Soditic, which we are happy to accompany in this transaction."
Septembre 2006 - AltAssets
* IFE II, a private equity vehicle specialised in mid-cap mezzanine finance in France and Continental Europe, has held a final closing on €300m, the target size of the fund.
IFE II is advised by IFE Conseil, an independent French team of six professionals.
Investors in the new fund are institutions (life insurers and banks from France, Germany and Italy) and family offices. A majority of IFE I's investors have also committed to IFE II.
IFE II started investing earlier this year. It has already invested around €100 m in eight deals, according to a statement.
The new fund's predecessor, IFE I, was launched in 2000 and made 16 mezzanine investments for an aggregate amount of €180 m.
Septembre 2005 - Capital Finance
* Premier closing à 150 M€ pour le fonds mezzanine IFE II
IFE Conseil persiste et signe. Après avoir levé, fin 1999, 175 M€ pour son premier fonds dédié aux investissements mezzanine en mid-cap, la société de conseil en investissement -dédiée exclusivement aux fonds IFE - a lancé, en début d'année 2005, la collecte pour son nouveau véhicule. Visant 300 M€ de collecte, IFE II - une Sicar luxembourgeoise - a déjà signé un premier closing, fin juillet, à 150 M€. CDC Entreprises, l'actionnaire fondateur d'IFE I, renouvelle sa confiance à l'équipe, forte de six professionnels. Il s'est engagé à apporter 25% des fonds propres, tandis que deux banques et des assureurs-vie ont également apporté leur écot. Leveragé à hauteur de 50%, IFE II bénéficie d'une prise ferme de la dette par Ixis. « Nous avons fixé un montant maximal des fonds levés afin de rester en ligne avec nos tickets unitaires, qui sont compris entre 5 M€ et 30 M€ », explique Régis Mitjavile, l'un des trois associés d'IFE Conseil. Avec de telles mises, IFE participe au financement des buy-out sur des entreprises valorisées entre 50 et 250 M€. « La pression sur les marges que connaissent les grands mezzaneurs, notamment au Royaume-Uni, ne touche pas le segment que nous ciblons. C'est pourquoi nous avons choisi de maintenir notre positionnement », poursuit Jean-Pascal Ley, également associé. Pour preuve, IFE dispose d'un palmarès satisfaisant. IFE I, qui sera liquidé fin 2007, a été investi dans 16 lignes, dont la moitié ont déjà été rendues liquides. En sus de deux refinancements, six cessions - dont Alain Afflelou, Center Parcs Europe, Eau Ecarlate et la dernière en date, B and B (cf. n° 766) - ont permis d'afficher un TRI pondéré de 32%. ln fine, l'équipe vise un TRI net de prélèvements de l'ordre de 15%.
Septembre 2005 - Option Finance
* Les levées de fonds continuent - IFE Conseil
Le spécialiste des financements mezzanine IFE Conseil vient de boucler le premier closing de son deuxième fonds, IFE II, à 150 millions d'euros. CDC Entreprises, déjà sponsor d'IFE l, ainsi que des
investisseurs institutionnels européens se sont engagés dans ce nouveau fonds. Il a vocation à fournir des financements mezzanine dans le cadre de transactions midcap en France et en Europe continentale. Lancé en 2000, IFE l a déjà cédé près de 50 % de ses actifs avec un TRI moyen supérieur à 30 %.
Juin 2005 - Private Equity Magazine - Special Issue
* IFE Conseil launches the raising...
IFE Conseil launches the raisinf of its second mezzanine fund for 300 million euros. IFE Il will be exclusively dedicated to mid cap transactions in France and in continental Europe. IFE I, launched in 2000 by Régis Mijavile with CDC Entreprises, is totally invested.
Mai 2005 - Real Deals
* IFE raising €300 m mezzanine fund
BY KIMBERLY ROMAINE
French investor IFE Conseil has launched a second mezzanine fund, targeting €300 m. IFE II will invest in mid-cap mezzanine opportunities in France and Continental Europe.
Half of the second fund will be leveraged. "We have raised the underwriting portion," said Régis Mitjavile, lFE's founding partner. He explained that the firm has also raised about a third of the equity for the fund, putting it on track for a €200 m first close in June. CDC Entreprises, which cornerstoned IFE Fund l, has committed to invest 25 per cent of the second fund's equity.
"We expect half our investors from the first fund to invest in this fund," Mitjavile said. "These include a strong base of French investors, such as life insurers and pension funds." A number of new European LPs are also expected to enter the fund. Ixis Corporate %26 Investment Bank is placing the vehicle.
Mitjavile feels deal selection is more important, now that competition in the mezzanine market has heated up.
"There is some pressure in the margins of mezzanine," he said. “Although that is more at the large end of the market, and the mid-market is still fairly attractive, there will be a slight decrease in returns."
He anticipates IFE II will generate net returns of Euribor, plus 10 to 12 basis points to investors, slightly below IFE Fund I's Euribor plus 12. Mitjavile believes non-domestic investments may make up a larger portion of the fund's investments than in the previous vehicle, where non-French deals accounted for about a quarter. There are also opportunities in Southern Europe. "Italy and Spain could provide richer pickings than previously. Banks are becoming more cautions in Italy, which leaves room for mezzanine," he added.
IFE Fund I raised €180 m in 2000 and is fully invested. Five investments have been fully realised, with two others partially through early repayments. There will be one or two more exits from that fund over the next couple of months, Mitjavile said.
Other firms currently raising mid-market mezzanine funds include Capzanine, Alcentra, Presidio and M Cap Finance.
Other mezzanine fundraisings include CapMan's €240 m fund and Eqvitec Partners, €50 m interim close in March.
Avril 2005 - PrivateEquityOnline.com
* IFE Conseil launches second mezz fund
The Paris-based mezzanine specialist has fired the starting pistol on its latest fund, which has a €300 million target.
IFE Conseil (Intermediate Finance Europe Conseil) has announced the launch of IFE II, a new Luxembourg-incorporated SICAR vehicle that will focus on mid-cap mezzanine investments in France and continental Europe.
The 300 million ($391 million) target fund is the successor to IFE Fund I, which was launched with 180 million of capital in 2000 and which has recently completed its investment period.
ln an interview with PEO, IFE Conseil founding partner Régis Mitjavile said the firm was hoping to achieve a first closing on around 200 million by the summer, with a final closing pencilled in for the end of this year. IXIS Corporate %26 Investment Bank is acting as placement agent to the fundraising.
Mitjavile added that he expected around half of the fund's capital to come from existing investors. CDC Entreprises, the private equity arm of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations Group, was a cornerstone investor in IFE l - accounting for 19 percent of the total - and has committed to invest 25 percent to IFE II (though this may be scaled back depending on the level of demand from other investors).
"The majority of investors in the first fund were banks," said Mitjavile. "We are hoping to retain those banks this time around, while also attracting life insurance companies, pension funds and funds of funds."
Mitjavile heads up a six-strong investment team at IFE that also includes partners Jean-Pascal Ley and Jean-Pierre Molin.
The firm has made 16 investments from its first fund, of which five have been realised to date. Portfolio companies include: Fraikin, the French truck and commercial vehicle hire firm; Global Garden Products, the pan-European lawnmower manufacturer; and CFP, the Italian maker of plastic film for food and medical packaging.
