Bridgepoint acquires Groupe Moniteur

Sagard has sold Groupe Moniteur, a French services and information provider to the construction and local authorities sectors, to Bridgepoint for an undisclosed sum. Sagard backed the management buyout of the business in 2004 for an undisclosed amount.

The company specialises in providing specialised information as well as a range of services to the construction and local authority sectors including 25 publications of which two, Le Moniteur des Travaux Publics (circulation of 62,000) and La Gazette des Communes (circulation of 37,000), are flagship publications for their respective target markets. In addition, the company organises trade fairs, offers training courses and databases and manages 20 web sites. In 2005, Groupe Moniteur had a turnover of €160m and employs 700 people of which 140 are journalists.

Calyon, RBS and ICG provided debt and mezzanine finance. Advisers involved in the transaction include for Bridgepoint: Deutsche Bank (corporate finance), Linklaters (legal), Bain (market due diligence) and PWC (financial due diligence); for Sagard – Clifford Chance (legal). And for management: Mayer, Brown Rowe & Maw (legal). Latham & Watkins advised Calyon, RBS and ICG.