Actualités
Cadum completes a €9m mezzanine refinancing
Milestone Capital Partners LLP has completed the refinancing of the mezzanine facility of investee company, Cadum International SA, a leading company in the personal care and homecare markets
The group is the owner of the legendary brand Cadum in France.
The €9m mezzanine facility, originally provided by Paris Orléans (Rothschild Group) to finance Milestone’s acquisition of Cadum and IBA in September 2007, is replaced by a new tranche of senior debt.
The bank syndicate for the refinancing is led by BNP Paribas, who, along with CIC-Est, arranged the senior debt facilities for the buyout in 2007. The additional senior tranche that will replace the mezzanine facility has been secured on similar terms that Milestone obtained for the company three years ago. Other members of the syndicate include Société Generale, LCL and Banque Palatine.
Erick Rinner, Managing Partner at Milestone commented: “Cadum is performing very well and has now repaid all its mezzanine debt, leaving the business with a debt to EBITDA ratio of well below 3x. The success of the refinancing demonstrates the banks’ confidence in Cadum and Milestone. We believe that Cadum is only of a handful French buyouts done in 2007 to have refinanced 100% of its mezzanine.”
Cadum showed strong trading results in 2009, with revenues of €43.9m. In the first quarter of 2010, the company has managed to boost sales of shower gels and baby products by 49% and 63% respectively, on a like-for-like basis, and it now commands a 6% market share for shower gels in France. The company is targeting revenues of more than €50m by the end of this financial year.
About CADUM
Cadum, the legendary oldest soap and baby product brand in France, was created in France in 1907, and launched its first soap in 1912. Today, the group is a leading player in the French soap and hygiene markets, owns three brands (Cadum, Cleopatra, Donge) and markets products such as solid soaps, liquid soaps, family hygiene products, kids and adult shower gel products and hygiene baby products.
Milestone acquired a controlling stake in Cadum in 2007, whilst simultaneously acquiring Iba, a leading provider of air care products founded in Paris in the 1990s. Under the Cadum umbrella, Iba continues to operate with four brands – Croc’Odor, IBA, Zensect and Dr Optic.
For further information, please contact:
- Erick Rinner: erick.rinner@milestone-capital.com
