Mecatherm secondary buyout

French mid market buyout houses Astorg Partners, 21 Centrale Partners, and the investment firm of the Duval-Fleury family Cogepa, has sold Mecatherm, a French manufacturer of industrial baking equipment, to Alpha Associates.

The company first fell into private equity hands in January 2004 when it was taken off the Paris stock exchange. At that time Mecatherm recorded revenues of €43m. In 2006 it reported revenues of €75m.

“Mecatherm, it is a company that all investors dream of,” said Joel Lacourte, partner at Astorg. “With unique technologies protected by patents, a tested and rigorous management team, strong growth, a total standardization of the products, production outsourcing, a very high profitability and cash generation, it is with regret that we see it leaving our portfolio.”