Private equity firms 3i and Crédit Agricole have agreed to sell their minority stakes in French security firm Dirickx.
Private equity firms 3i and Crédit Agricole have agreed to sell their minority stakes in French security firm Dirickx.
The deal, which was for an undisclosed amount, sees the Dirickx family regain 100 per cent of the business, while 3i will make a return of 2.5 times its original investment.
3i has been an investor in the company since 2004, when the Dirickx family sold a stake of approximately 40 per cent to a consortium of private equity backers in order to fund expansion of the business outside France.
The other investors who are exiting the company in the deal are Sigefi Private Equity and Sodero Participations.
During the past six years, Dirickx has constructed a new production plant near Beijing, acquired the Slovakian security company Kelcom, as well as buying a number of French businesses. Antoine Faguer, a director at 3i, says the company has ‘almost doubled in size’ since the original investment.
Jacques Dirickx, chairman of the Dirickx group, comments that its external investors have ‘helped to implement an effective organisational structure to accompany our growth and supported us actively in our expansion strategy in Europe and Asia’.
Philippe Zurawski, a director at Crédit Agricole Private Equity, says the deal ‘has enabled us to achieve an IRR of over 20 per cent’.
France-based Dirickx produces and installs fencing and gates. Founded in 1921, it employs 1,165 people and in 2009 had sales of €161 million (£137 million).
