PAI Partners

PAI Partners is a French private equity firm based in Paris. It is one of the oldest firms in the sector, with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, historically the principal investment arm of Paribas, which started operations in 1872.

PAI Partners SAS
TypePrivate
IndustryPrivate equity
Founded1998 (1998)
HeadquartersParis, France
Key people
ProductsPrivate equity funds
Total assets€25.4 billion[1]
Number of employees
138
Websitewww.paipartners.com
PAI headquarters in Paris, rue de Rivoli Copyright PAI LdB

PAI manages €25.4 billion of dedicated buyout funds. Since 1994, PAI has completed 65 LBO transactions in 11 European countries, representing over €48 billion in transaction value. PAI has 62 agents from 10 countries and teams in Paris, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Stockholm and New York City.

History

PAI was formerly known as Paribas Affaires Industrielles,[2][3] and was historically the principal investment arm of Paribas. PAI LBO Fund, established in 1998, was the first PAI investment vehicle managing third party capital. Prior to 1998, PAI invested exclusively on the balance sheet of BNP Paribas.

Paribas merged with Banque Nationale de Paris in 2000.[4] In 1993, Amaury de Sèze joined Paribas Affaires Industrielles as chairman and chief executive officer. Under his leadership, PAI developed a strategy in private equity that capitalized on the team's familiarity with industrial sectors.

Paribas Affaires Industrielles led the €610 million buyout of Danone’s pasta and condiment unit in 1997,[5][6] at that time the largest leveraged buyout ever completed in France. The following year, the firm finalized fundraising for its first third party investment fund, raising €650 million of investor commitments. PAI completed a full spinout from BNP in 2000 and the following year raised a new €1.8 billion private equity fund.

History of private equity
and venture capital
Early history
(origins of modern private equity)
The 1980s
(leveraged buyout boom)
The 1990s
(leveraged buyout and the venture capital bubble)
The 2000s
(dot-com bubble to the credit crunch)
The 2010s
(expansion)
The 2020s
(COVID-19 recession)

In September 2009, Lionel Zinsou became CEO and Chairman of the firm.[7][8] In 2015, Michel Paris became CEO after Lionel Zinsou stepped down to become prime minister in Benin.[9][10]

In March 2015, PAI raised its fifth LBO fund, PAI Europe VI, reaching €3.3 billion, above the initial target of €3 billion.[11] In September 2017, PAI announced the raising of a seventh investment vehicle: PAI Europe VII.[12] In March 2018, PAI closed their PAI Europe VII fund.[13][14]

Investment funds

Funds

Prior to 1998, PAI made investments via the Paribas Portfolio. The Paribas Portfolio was funded directly from Paribas’ balance sheet, largely unleveraged and comprising 51 investments, all of which have now been realised. Reflecting the broader investment remit of PAI at the time, it included control and non-control investments. Since 1998, PAI has raised five private equity funds, as detailed below:

PAI buyout funds since inception
Fund name Vintage Total commitment Focus Status
PAI LBO Fund 1998 €650 million Buyout Liquidated
PAI Europe III 2001 €1.8 billion Buyout Liquidated
PAI Europe IV 2005 €2.7 billion Buyout Exit phase
PAI Europe V 2008 €2.7 billion Buyout Exit phase
PAI Europe VI 2015 €3.3 billion Buyout Investment phase
PAI Europe VII[15] 2018 €5.1 billion Buyout Investment phase

Detailed investments

Historically, PAI managed Paribas's stakes in large food and consumer goods companies across Europe: Royal Canin (European leader in dry pet food), Diana Ingredients (natural food ingredients), Evialis (animal feed), Saupiquet (ready meals), LDC (premium poultry), Navidul (cured ham – Spain), SOS Arana (rice – Spain) and helped them consolidate their respective sector. In 2021 PAI completed its largest ever investment with the $3.3 billion acquisition of Tropicana, Naked and other North American juice brands from PepsiCo.[16] Previous transactions in consumer goods and services, healthcare as well as general industrial companies are highlighted below:

PAI VI investments
Entry Exit Company Name Business description Country Ref.
2015 Unrealised AS Adventure[17] Outdoor equipment and fashion retailer Belgium [18]
2016 Unrealised Atos Medical[19] Laryngectomy products Sweden [20]
2016 2019 B&B Hotels[21] Budget hotel chain France [22]
2017 Unrealised Tendam[23] Apparel retailer Spain [24]
2014 2017 DomusVi[25] Elderly care France [26]
2017 Unrealised ELITech[27] Diagnostic equipment Italy [28]
2016 Unrealised Ethypharm[29] Specialty pharmaceuticals France [30]
2014 Unrealised EuroMediaGroup Technical services to the audiovisual industry France [31]
2014 2017 InnoVista Sensors (formerly CST) Sensors and control products United States [32][33]
2015 Unrealised Konecta Business process outsourcing and contact centres Spain [34]
2014 Unrealised Labeyrie Fine Foods Gourmet food France [35]
2016 Unrealised Roompot Holiday parks The Netherlands [36]
2014 Unrealised VPS Vacant property services United Kingdom [37]

PAI V investments
Entry Exit Company Name Business description Country Ref.
2013 2017 ADB Safegate Airfield ground lighting Belgium [38]
2008 2015 Atos IT service provider France [39]
2010 2017 Cerba European Lab Specialised biology laboratory France [40]
2013 Unrealised Froneri (formerly R&R Ice Cream) Take-home ice cream manufacturer United Kingdom [41]
2011 2016 Hunkemöller Lingerie retailer The Netherlands [42]
2013 2017 Group IPH Industrial supplies distributor France [43]
2011 2017 Kiloutou Equipment rental services France [44]
2012 2019 Marcolin Eyewear design and manufacturing Italy [45]
2011 2016 Swissport Global ground and cargo aircraft handling services Switzerland [46]
2011 2014 The Nuance Group Travel retail and duty-free industry Switzerland [47]
2008 2017 Xella Aircrete blocks Germany [48]

PAI IV investments
Entry Exit Company Name Business description Country Ref.
2005 2012 Chr. Hansen Natural food ingredients Denmark [49]
2005 2017 Cortefiel Apparel retailer Spain [24]
2005 2016 Global Closure Systems (aka GCS) Plastic closures France [50]
2007 2017 Kaufman & Broad Developer and builder of homes France [51]
2005 2011 Kwik-Fit Automotive fast-fit United Kingdom [52]
2007 2009 Monier Roofing products France [53]
2005 2023 Perstorp Specialty chemical ingredients used for coatings Sweden [54][55]
2006 2011 Spie Multitechnical services France [56]
2006 2014 United Biscuits Biscuits and snacks United Kingdom [57]

Previous investments

Notes and references
  1. Funds raised since inception
  2. "PAI Partners fait évoluer sa gouvernance - Les Echos". www.lesechos.fr (in French). 16 January 2017. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  3. Arnold, Martin (9 December 2008). "PAI Partners face double deal hit | Financial Times". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  4. "10 largest banks in the world as measure by the total assets". www.forexnewsnow.com. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  5. "Notre histoire | Groupe Panzani". Groupe Panzani (in French). Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  6. "Danone cède son épicerie et se recentre sur trois pôles - Les Echos". www.lesechos.fr (in French). 10 October 1997. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  7. Javed, Ayesha (2015-06-19). "PAI Partners Chief To Become Prime Minister of Benin". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  8. Michel, Serge (2015-08-07). "Lionel Zinsou: from Paris to Benin with an action plan". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  9. "Le banquier Lionel Zinsou devient premier ministre du Bénin". Le Monde.fr (in French). 19 June 2015. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  10. "Michel Paris devient seul maître à bord de PAI - Les Echos". www.lesechos.fr (in French). 21 June 2015. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  11. "Hard cap à 3,3 Md€ pour PAI Partners - Private Equity Magazine". www.pemagazine.fr.
  12. "Closing final à 4 Md€ en vue pour PAI Partners". Capital Finance (in French). 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  13. Jacobius, Arleen (2018-03-30). "PAI Partners closes latest fund at €5 billion". Pensions & Investments. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  14. staff, PEN. "PAI's Latest Fundraising Effort Closes at €5 Billion Hard Cap". Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  15. "PAI Partners closes latest fund at €5 billion". Pensions & Investments. March 30, 2018.
  16. "PepsiCo to sell Tropicana and other juice brands for $3.3 billion". CNBC. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  17. https://www.asadventure.fr A.S. Adventure
  18. Winterbottom, Andrew (2015-02-04). "Private equity firm PAI buys AS Adventure for 400 million euros". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2018-01-26. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  19. https://www.atosmedical.com/ Atos Medical
  20. Figari, Luciano (2016-05-31). "EQT exits Atos Medical to PAI Partners - Real Deals". Real Deals. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  21. http://www.hotel-bb.com/en/home.htm B&B Hotels
  22. "BRIEF-PAI Partners enters exclusive negotiations to buy B&B Hotels". Reuters. 2015-12-15. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  23. https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/cvc-agrees-to-split-cortefiel-with-pai-and-permira-20050722%7Ctitle=CVC agrees to split Cortefiel with PAI and Permira|last=Dewson|first=Andrew|accessdate=2018-01-25
  24. Dewson, Andrew. "CVC agrees to split Cortefiel with PAI and Permira". Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  25. https://www.domusvi.com/ DomusVi
  26. Figari, Luciano (2017-06-08). "PAI Partners to sell DomusVi stake to ICG - Real Deals". Real Deals. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  27. Langworth, Hannah (2017-05-12). "PAI acquires diagnostics business Elitech from Ergon - Real Deals". Real Deals. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  28. Langworth, Hannah (2017-05-12). "PAI acquires diagnostics business Elitech from Ergon - Real Deals". Real Deals. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  29. "Ethypharm Buying Martindale Pharma". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  30. "PAI to buy drugmaker Ethypharm from Astorg for about $855 million: sou". Reuters. 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  31. "France's PAI Partners to buy Euro Media Group". Reuters. 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  32. "The Carlyle Group and PAI Partners Enter into Exclusive Discussions with Schneider Electric for the Acquisition of a Majority Stake in Custom Sensors & Technologies, a Specialist in Designing and Manufacturing Sensing, Control and Motion Products | The Carlyle Group". www.carlyle.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  33. Riordan, Darragh (2017-12-14). "Carlyle, PAI sell Crouzet to LBO France - Real Deals". Real Deals. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  34. "PAI Partners acquires a 40% stake in Grupo Konecta - Nearshore Americas". Nearshore Americas. 2015-10-06. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  35. Bray, Chad. "PAI Partners Plans Joint Venture to Control Labeyrie Fine Foods". DealBook. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  36. Bobeldijk, Yolanda. "PAI Partners buys Dutch holiday park business". Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  37. "PAI Partners acquires VPS Holdings from TDR Capital - PE Hub". PE Hub. 2014-06-25. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  38. Riordan, Darragh (2017-07-17). "PAI Partners sells ADB Safegate to Carlyle - Real Deals". Real Deals. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  39. "Private equity firm PAI sells out of". Reuters. 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  40. Espinoza, Javier (2017-01-22). "Cerba Healthcare sold to Partners Group and PSP Investments". Financial Times. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  41. "Nestlé and R&R to create Froneri, an ice cream and frozen food joint venture". www.nestle.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  42. "Carlyle's Hunkemöller acquisition approved". RetailDetail. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  43. White, Lucy (2017-06-12). "Advent wraps up IPH deal to create €2.1bn industrials business". Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  44. "Kiloutou sold by PAI Partners - XPERTS COUNCIL". XPERTS COUNCIL (in French). 2017-12-07. Archived from the original on 2018-01-26. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  45. "Italian eyewear maker Marcolin sold to private equity". Reuters. 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  46. Bray, Chad (2015-07-30). "PAI Partners to Sell Swissport International for $2.8 Billion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  47. "Dufry buys Nuances's duty free shops for 1.55 billion Swiss francs". bebeez.it. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  48. "PAI Partners and Goldman sell Xella to buyout group Lone Star". Reuters. 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  49. "PAI Partners sell 25.7 pct of Chr Hansen to Novo A/S". Reuters. 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  50. "PAI uncorks sale of French bottle-top maker Global Closure Systems - s". Reuters. 2015-10-28. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  51. "Kaufman & Broad: Un fonds de PAI Partners cède 17% du capital". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  52. "Itochu says to buy Kwik Fit for £637 million". Reuters. 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  53. "PAI takes hit as lenders wrestle control of Monier". Reuters. 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  54. Chimie, Info (24 October 2005). "Perstorp tombe dans le giron du Français PAI Partners - Info Chimie". www.industrie.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  55. "PAI Partners agrees sale of Perstorp to Petronas Chemicals Group". 17 May 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  56. Cauchi, Marietta. "PAI Partners sells Spie for $2.1 billion". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  57. "Blackstone and PAI Partners agree sale of United Biscuits to Yildiz Holding - FoodBev Media". www.foodbev.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
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