AXA Private Equity sells its stake in the Gautier Group Paris, Friday December 20, 2002

AXA Private Equity, one of the market leaders for investment in non-listed companies, has sold its majority stake in the Gautier group, France’s leading contemporary furniture company, with sales of over € 140 million.

This capital restructuring leaves Gautier’s management with a much larger stake in the group. The management and its local industrial partners have been with the company since AXA Private Equity arranged its LMBO in late 1999. They now take a controlling interest.

The first generation fund AXA Private Equity Fund (APEF) has more than doubled its initial investment in Gautier in three years, generating a gross IRR of 30%.

At the end of 1999, AXA Private Equity supported Gautier’s management in structuring its LMBO. Gautier France was then delisted from the Paris Second Marché. This deal, one of France’s biggest public-to-private operations in 2000, re-energised the company, as more than 50 managers became shareholders. Since the deal Gautier France has continued its healthy development.

Gautier

Gautier France leads the French market for bedroom furniture. Alongside this speciality, Gautier also supplies office, children’s and young lifestyle (i.e. functional multipurpose) furniture.
It is active in 40 countries, with 4 distribution subsidiaries located in the US, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain. Exports make up around 30% of the company’s business.

Additional information: www.gautier.fr