AXA sells Vulcanic in secondary deal

French firm AXA Private Equity has sold its 85% stake in Vulcanic Finances Group, a French manufacturer of electrothermics and instrument transformers, to 21 Centrale Partners and the management for €82.5m.

AXA Private Equity Fund II invested in Vulcanic in July 2000 when the previous owners, the Dynaction group, a French chemicals company, sold off a swathe of its capital goods activities. At the time Vulcanic was a public company, having been listed on the Paris stock exchange since 1991.

Since acquiring the business, AXA has restructured the company and made managerial changes, as well as overseeing the acquisition of three companies, the most notable being RS Isolsec, a French specialist in low-voltage transformers, in July 2001 owned by 3i, Rel, IPO, BNP Paribas and Crédit Lyonnais Capital Investissement.