Advent snaps up Belgium aluminium group

Advent International has acquired Belgium-headquartered Corialis (Core Innovative Aluminium Integrated Solutions) alongside the company’s management team, the firm said today.

Advent did not disclose the terms of the transaction, but market sources have indicated that the deal valued Corialis at between €600 million and €650 million. Corialis’s management team, led by CEO Johan Verstrepen, is thought to have “significantly” reinvested in the company.

Advent declined to comment beyond the statement.

Corialis manufactures and supplies aluminium profile systems to small and mid-sized window, door, and conservatory manufacturers for the new-build and renovation construction markets. The company employs 1,600 people across four major hubs in Belgium, France, Poland and the UK, and distributes its products in more than 20 countries.

In the 12 months to September 2014, Corialis generated revenues of around €350 million, and has averaged more than seven percent organic sales growth per annum over the past decade, according to Advent.

Advent has bought the business from Franco-Canadian buyout firm Sagard Private Equity Partners, which held a majority stake, and Belgium-headquartered Ergon Capital Partners. The pair, alongside the company’s management team, acquired Corialis, which was then called Aliplast, from Cognetas in January 2007 in a deal valued at €430 million.

According to market sources, Jeffries, Rabobank and UBS acted as arrangers on the debt financing package for Advent, raising around €480 million.

It is understood that CVC, PAI and Blackstone were among the other firms also interested in acquiring Corialis.

Advent said that it would seek to take advantage of aluminium’s gaining share price against PVC and wood in the European profiles market, driven by the material’s superior design flexibility, premium positioning, improved thermal efficiency and superior lifetime value. It will also continue to develop the existing hubs, as well as rolling out the integrated hub-based model into other European markets, either organically or through add-on acquisitions.

Advent invested in Corialis from its Global Private Equity VII, an €8.5 billion vehicle that closed in November 2012.

In March Advent teamed up with Bain Capital and Danish pension fund ATP to acquire Nets, a payment provider in the Nordic region, for DKK 17 billion (€2.3 billion; $3.1 billion). Both Advent and Bain were set to invest DKK 2.6 billion of equity (€350 million; $480 million) in the transaction, PEI reported at the time. Earlier this year Advent reported generating $7.8 billion in proceeds through 22 full and partial exits in 2013, a record for the firm.