Arle beds in with €800m Hilding Anders refi

UK-based Arle Capital Partners has completed a €800 million refinancing of Swedish bedmaker Hilding Anders. As a result of the deal, the company's near-term debt maturities have been extended by three years to December 2017 and June 2018 and its net debt has fallen to 4.8x EBITDA, following the pre-payment of its senior debt facilities.

In May, Arle’s attempt to sell Hilding Anders via an auction process collapsed when second round bids came in lower than Arle had hoped, according to a source close to the company. Arle concluded there was greater value in holding on to the company than in selling it at a reduced price. The refinancing comes as a result of that decision. 

As part of the refinancing, Hilding Anders has also secured a €350 million payment-in-kind facility from KKR Asset Management. The company said this money would  be used both to repay current lenders and to finance its growth plans in Europe, Russia and Asia. Hilding Anders now has around €90 million of cash in the bank.

The company sells both branded and private-label products, and employs 7,600 people in over 40 markets. It has grown through 14 acquisitions in the past decade. Arle remains the leading shareholder in the business, having bought it in 2006 from Investcorp for an enterprise value of 9.2 billion Swedish crowns ($1.4 billion).

“Hilding Anders is a company with significant equity upside, a very experienced management team and a clear road map for value creation,” said Javier Abad, Partner at Arle Capital Partners, in a statement.

Arle, the firm that emerged from the ashes of Candover Partners in 2009 and is currently managing out that group's €2 billion legacy portfolio, also said today that it had agreed the sale of Qioptiq, a designer and manufacturer of photonic products, to Excelitas Technologies. Acquired by Candover in 2005 and managed by Arle since 2010, Qioptig now employs 2,000 people across five countries, having grown organically and by acquisitions in Germany and the UK. The transaction is expected to close in the next quarter.

Arle says that since its inception it has returned more than €730 million to investors, after realising investments in Ontex, Equity Trust and Capital Safety Group.