ABN AMRO Capital acquires Outinord

ABN AMRO Capital, the private equity subsidiary of ABN AMRO, has completed the acquisition of Outinord, a manufacturer of steel formworks for the construction industry, from Siparex and SPEF LBO.

In 2002, an investor group including Siparex Croissance and Societe de Participations et d’Etudes Financieres, a unit of Caisse des Banques Populaires (SPEF LBO), acquired Outinord for €15m (US$13m) in a leveraged buyout transaction. In 2005, Outinord achieved revenues of €50m.

As a result of the buyout, ABN AMRO Capital will become the majority shareholder, with the company’s management team reinvesting a substantial part of their sale proceeds. BNP Paribas and Calyon will provide acquisition financing.

Bruno Houette and Olivier Nemsguern co-ordinated the investment on behalf of ABN AMRO Capital France and will join the board of Outinord as non-executive directors.

Hervé Claquin, managing partner of ABN AMRO Capital’s French buyout team, said: “Outinord is the kind of business we like to invest in – it operates in a very profitable niche market, has a proven and successful management team and the opportunity to expand further internationally.”

Over the last 12 months, ABN AMRO Capital has completed 15 European buyouts with an aggregated deal value of €2.3bn and has realised 13 exits.