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Consumer
Established in 1993, Benelux-based Action is the leading non-food discount retailer in Europe. Large-scale procurement, flexible assortment, optimal distribution and a cost-conscious corporate culture ensure very low prices. The core product assortment includes decoration, DIY, garden and outdoor, household goods, multimedia, sports, stationery and hobby, toys and entertainment, food and drink, laundry and cleaning, personal care, pets, clothing and linen.
Action generates revenues of over €5bn per annum. Its business model differs from that of more traditional retailers because only c35% of its total product range is fixed. Action aims to surprise its customers with a constantly refreshed product range at amazingly low prices. The business model is summarised by the slogan: "more than you expect for less than you imagine".
"Action continues to perform strongly by expanding rapidly. The company has become a seasoned issuer in the debt markets. The strong demand from investors reflects the high level of support for Action’s strategy and management.” Robert Van Goethem, Partner and Head of Consumer
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.
Industrial Technology
AES’s mechanical seals are used in a variety of pumps and rotating equipment worldwide to prevent liquids and gases escaping into the environment. A wide range of mechanical seal types are manufactured to suit different industries and the significant investment made in modular design means that AES provides the best on-time delivery performance in the industry.
The AESSEAL® range of seals, seal support systems and bearing protectors are designed to improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs of rotating equipment. The business is focused on giving customers such exceptional service that they need never consider alternative sources of supply.
"3i has been a great partner over nearly two decades. They understand what it takes to grow a great, international business; they both support us in that mission and challenge us to be the best we can." Chris Rea, OBE Founder and Managing Director
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Business & Technology Services
arrivia (formerly I.C.E.) is a global provider of technology-based B2B2C travel-based loyalty and reward solutions for organisations such as Carnival, American Express, USAA and Diamond Resorts.
The Company has developed a network business model that enables leading brands to offer loyalty programmes that provide customers with unmatched value on all travel products (e.g. cruise, hotel, resort, etc.) arrivia also partners with leading travel suppliers to generate incremental travel bookings from members of its loyalty programmes.
arrivia employs over 2,600 staff and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona with additional offices in Australia, UK, Portugal, India, Mexico, New Zealand and the Philippines.
“I am honoured to join the team at arrivia as its Chief Executive Officer and to partner with 3i, who has a proven track record in the travel industry and an impressive international network. Over the years, arrivia has built a very successful travel distribution company that has unique capabilities in the areas of membership, loyalty and revenue management. I believe the company has tremendous opportunities to capitalise on this foundation and innovate for the future.” Mike Nelson, CEO, arrivia
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation, a US wholly owned subsidiary of 3i Group.
Consumer
Audley Travel (“Audley”) is a leading provider of tailor-made experiential travel to over 100 destinations worldwide. Serving clients predominantly in the UK and US, Audley is renowned for its superior customer service and in-depth destination expertise delivered by its country specialists. This exceptional service drives customer loyalty leading to high levels of repeat customers and referrals.
Founded in 1996, Audley is the clear market leader in tailor-made travel in the UK. The business expanded into the US in 2014 with the opening of an office in Boston and grew rapidly to exceed 25% of bookings by 2019.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Consumer
Benelux-based Basic-Fit is the European market leader in the value-for-money fitness market with c900 clubs across five countries. Its operating model is based on a quality service, no frills approach, with memberships at €19.99 per 4 weeks. Clubs are well equipped, offer virtual group classes and 24 hour opening in some venues.
Basic-Fit’s disciplined international growth strategy is underpinned by investment in the organisation and key consumer trends of spending polarisation and the increasing focus on health and wellness. Alongside this, significant investment has been made to professionalise the business including a review of the brand and the format of the clubs. During the lockdown in 2020-2021, Basic-Fit invested in its relationship with its customers by not collecting any membership fees and by offering live programmes online via the Basic Fit app.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.
Consumer
Established in 1952, BoConcept is a leading Nordic design brand with dedicated distribution through dedicated BoConcept franchises around the world. BoConcept (literally translated from Danish "Living Concept") helps a wide range of customers to transform their home into a modern and extraordinary space fit to their style, through personal styling advice, great design at affordable prices and a high level of customisation. With an omni-channel offering through its ~300 stores in 65 countries across five continents, the homogenous brand concept of BoConcept is globally proven in metropoles around the world.
The company realised sales of DKK1.2bn in the financial year ending 30 April 2020.
"BoConcept has a globally appealing customer proposition. I enjoy working with the management team and 3i to unlock the full potential of the company." Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae, Chairman, BoConcept
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.
Consumer
Christ is a German jeweller, founded in Frankfurt in 1863 and now based in Hagen. The company is a market leader in jewellery and watches in Germany in the mid-to-upper price segment.
Christ focuses on its own specialised stores in high street locations and shopping malls, along with flagship stores at airports and prestigious department stores. Additionally, Christ runs a strongly growing e-commerce platform. Through its strong multi-channel capabilities bridging between the stationary stores and the e-Commerce business, Christ leverages its strong brand online and offline.
“3i's long-time experience in the consumer space and our close and trusted relationship are the basis for Christ's resilience during the Covid-19 crisis and the driver of accelerated post-Covid growth.” Stephan Hungeling, CEO, Christ
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Germany.
Healthcare
Cirtec Medical ("Cirtec") is a leading global provider of outsourced medical device and components design, engineering and manufacturing, headquartered in Minnesota. Cirtec specialises in outsourced solutions for active implantable medical devices. Customers rely on Cirtec’s expertise to provide value-add solutions throughout the entire development cycle to help bring life-enhancing therapies to market.
The medical device outsourcing (MDO) market is expected to grow at a high single digit rate over the next five years and Cirtec is strategically indexed to the most innovative therapeutic end-markets that are growing at a rate beyond the broader MDO industry.
"We look forward to partnering with 3i. We feel that their approach, sector understanding and international reach makes them the right partner to support the next stage of our growth." Brian Highley, CEO, Cirtec
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation, a US wholly owned subsidiary of 3i Group.
Consumer
Dutch Bakery, a leading bakery group specialised in home bake-off bread and snack products, is headquartered in Tilburg and operates six bakeries across the Netherlands.
Dutch Bakery offers a leading, innovative and comprehensive assortment, which is produced sustainably and with natural ingredients. The bake-off market for bread and snack products is an attractive and growing market, with significant barriers to entry and increasing penetration of high-quality modified atmosphere packaging products (which extend the shelf life of fresh food products).
"3i has extensive experience in the private label market through its investments in Royal Sanders and Refresco and a proven track record of growing companies internationally, both of which will be of great benefit to us. We look forward to working with them to build on our success to date and create a leading European player in the bake-off market." Raoul Vorage, CEO, Dutch Bakery
Industrial Technology
Dynatect is a leading manufacturer of engineered, mission critical components that protect equipment.
Dynatect’s products are made from a variety of materials ranging from nylons to metals and are designed to protect and elongate the life of valuable equipment and protect workers near machinery. Products are low-cost yet critical, such as cable carriers or telescopic protective covers, and are sold into a large number of end-markets including automation, machine tools, construction, agriculture, transportation, medical and O&G.
The company is headquartered in Wisconsin, USA, and operates in four locations in the US and two locations in Europe.
"3i was a natural choice of partner for us. With their international network and local market insight, we will be able to accelerate our international growth strategy and be best placed to service our global customer base". Brian McSharry, Former CEO, Dynatect
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation, a US wholly owned subsidiary of 3i Group.
Business & Technology Services
Headquartered in Paris, France, Evernex maintains equipment that is critical for customers' business continuity, with full coverage of all equipment (servers, storage and network) and all OEMs. With its global presence, Evernex maintains over 220,000 IT systems and is the clear leader in Europe, Latin America and MEA.
Evernex acts as a single point of contact to address complex issues for its customers, combining strong technological capabilities with the ability to ensure quality of service anywhere across the globe. Today, Evernex is a leading consolidation platform benefitting from a fragmented and highly resilient market.
"3i has a truly international team and network, which makes it the best partner for businesses looking to expand geographically. It also has deep expertise in the outsourcing space, and we look forward to benefiting from its track record as we accelerate our growth." Stanislas Pilot, CEO, Evernex
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i France.
Industrial Technology, Business & Technology Services
Formel D is a leading global service provider to the automotive and component supply industry, offering quality assurance and process optimisation along the entire value chain - from development to production through to aftersales.
The company offers a wide range of testing and inspection services for individual parts, systems and vehicles to major OEMs and suppliers. Formel D was founded in 1993 and has over 9,000 employees at 80 facilities in 22 countries worldwide.
“We are excited to work with 3i and CITIC Capital. Formel D’s international success story has just begun and we feel the combination of 3i and CITIC Capital is an exceptional one to further drive the next phase of our growth.” Dr. Juergen Laakmann, CEO, Formel D
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Germany.
Consumer
GartenHaus headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, is the online leader in the garden homes, sheds, saunas and related projects market in the DACH region. The business combines specialist trade product know-how with digital competence and offers a one-stop platform for customers – from planning to realisation and maintenance of their garden and home projects.
Founded in 2002, GartenHaus is a pure eCommerce player and has been the pioneer in selling garden homes directly to consumers.
We see the business as the foundation to building the leading European platform for home and garden projects. The key focus is to develop the product range into adjacent categories, as well as to internationalise the business by expanding into neighbouring countries.
“3i has a great reputation for helping its companies to grow internationally and we are excited to partner with their team at this point in our journey. The 3i team has a strong network, excellent digital capabilities and a strong track record in the consumer retailer space, all of which will be of great benefit to GartenHaus.” Sebastian Arendt, CEO, GartenHaus
Consumer
Founded in 1982 and headquartered in the Netherlands, Hans Anders is a market leading, value-for-money optical retailer in North-West Europe. The company operates under the Hans Anders, eyes + more and Direkt Optik retail banners, and offers a range of private label and branded spectacles, hearing aids, contact lenses and sunglasses at average price points significantly below its major competitors.
Hans Anders is one of the most well-known optical retailers in its core markets, with a high level of brand awareness and customer loyalty that will benefit from long term macro-growth dynamics.
"eyes + more is a great strategic fit for Hans Anders and the acquisition will transform our company into a European platform, making it the leading North-West European optical retailer in the growing value-for-money segment." Bart van den Nieuwenhof, CEO, Hans Anders
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.
Healthcare, Consumer
Havea Group is a leader in the Natural Consumer Healthcare industry in Europe. It manufactures, designs and distributes a wide range of products from functional and natural food supplements, to natural personal care products for babies and women through its world class plant in France. Havea is well positioned due to its multi-distribution channel strategy (pharma, mass market, D2C) and its 7 well-known strategic brands: Biolane, Vitavea, Nature Moi, Yves Ponroy, Aragan, Densmore and Dermovitamina. Havea has acquired 5 companies in the past 5 years to strengthen its presence in the pharmacy channel and internationally.
Since inception, Havea has grown at a double digit rate each year organically and is well positioned to benefit from the consolidation taking place in this highly fragmented market and will continue to expand its international footprint in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
"3i is a great partner for Havea; its values and approach fit really well with our entrepreneurial mindset. They relentlessly look for growth while keeping the right balance between operational performance improvement and the strengthening and digitalisation of our core processes. In 4 years with 3i, we have doubled the size of the Group and made 5 acquisitions, including my own company” Nicolas Brodetsky, CEO, Havea
Business & Technology Services
JMJ is a US-headquartered, leading global safety, sustainability, and performance consulting firm with a focus on supporting multinational companies with complex capital programmes and operations. The business works with clients to significantly enhance their workplace safety and their project and organisational team performance through behavioural and cultural transformation.
JMJ has a strong international presence and future growth will come from its strong underlying end-markets, the increasing complexity and size of major capital projects, the development of a virtual delivery platform, rising global spending on workplace safety, sustainability, and performance, and continued growth in the utilisation of external expertise in safety and project execution services.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation, a US wholly owned subsidiary of 3i Group.
