M&A Activity • Jun 30, 2021
M&A Activity
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Exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of Primonial Group Strategic retail real estate partnership established with Crédit Agricole Assurances Ambitious growth targets for 2025
Altarea enters into exclusive negotiations with Primonial Group shareholders and management for a twostep acquisition (Q1 2022: 60%; Q1 2024: 40%) for an enterprise value of €1.9 billion1
Strategic partnership with Crédit Agricole Assurances over €1 billion of existing retail assets owned by Altarea
Unique business model spanning the entire real estate value chain via two complementary business lines
1 Excluding potential earn out (see paragraph 2.5."Terms, financing and provisional timetable" of this press release)
« From the beginning, Altarea's vision has been to accelerate the urban transformation. Our project is focused on meeting the essential needs of the future in terms of housing, offices, shops and infrastructure for the benefit of citizens, by designing and implementing exemplary solutions in terms of new uses and the fight against climate change. Based on these convictions and thanks to our entrepreneurial spirit, we have always been able to anticipate changes in the real estate market, to rethink our model - through organic growth as well as targeted acquisitions - and successfully managed our business throughout cycles and crisis. We are now ready to begin a new chapter in our history.
The two strategic transactions we are announcing with Primonial and Crédit Agricole Assurances will enable us to further expand our platform of expertise and thus become an independent leader in real estate investment and property development. They will strengthen our development potential, including internationally, and our operational profile by combining growth and recurring results.
This industrial project meetsthe needs of all our clients, and particularly investors who are increasingly looking for diversified products to invest in real estate. Thanks to Primonial, we will be able to offer a unique range of products and solutions across all real estate businesses, asset classes and markets. In a low interest rate environment, the Group's growth will now be fuelled by both urban transformation and real estate investment and saving markets.
Altarea has the financial and managerial capabilities to carry out these transforming operations, which will position us ahead of competition and create value for all our stakeholders. We look to the future with great confidence as we have exceptional market prospects ».
Alain Taravella, Altarea Group Chairman and Founder
Altarea and Crédit Agricole Assurances have set up a partnership covering retail assets worth €1.0 billion3 currently held by Altarea, based on a value slightly below the 2020 year-end appraisal values.
The agreement provides for the formation of two joint ventures between Altarea (51%) and Crédit Agricole Assurances (49%) financed entirely through straight equity (€515 million contributed by Altarea and €485 million by Crédit Agricole Assurances):
Altarea will retain asset management, thereby pursuing its retail asset management strategy launched several years ago. Following these transactions, which are expected to be completed by the end of 2021, Altarea will manage a portfolio of 43 retail assets representing a total value of €5.2 billion4 , in which it will hold an economic share of nearly €2.3 billion.
In a post-Covid crisis world benefiting from a strong recovery in consumption, this transaction reflects the renewed interest among institutional investors for physical retail assets, which are proving once again to be an attractive investment proposition, provided they are managed by an experienced asset manager.
As part of its objectives to expand its capabilities, Altarea has identified real estate asset management as a fast-growing business driven by attractive underlying fundamentals: strong and sustainable investment by retail investors plus a growing appetite among institutional investors for real estate offering attractive returns and inflation-linked income. Real estate asset management is therefore as a natural extension of Altarea's business activities, generating growth and synergies with existing areas of expertise.
Altarea has identified the Primonial Group and its talented management team as the most innovative and attractive player in the market. Primonial has a demonstrated track-record of strong inflows and a best-in-class investment performance. Primonial and Altarea share same philosophy and values: entrepreneurial development, long-term vision, profitable growth, innovation and pioneering spirit, quality and customer satisfaction, and a strong commitment to socially responsible investment.
2 See today's press release entitled "Altarea and Crédit Agricole Assurances announce new partnership covering retail assets worth €1 billion", available at altarea.com.
3 Including transfer duties.
4 Based on 2020 year-end appraisal values.
5 See today's press release entitled "Altarea enters into exclusive negotiations with the shareholders of Primonial Group to create an independent leader in real estate investment and property development", available at altarea.com.
Altarea has entered into exclusive negotiations with Primonial Group shareholders (Bridgepoint, Latour Capital and Société Générale Assurances) and management for a potential two-step acquisition of the entire share capital.
The transaction encompasses real estate asset management (€30 billion in property assets under management as of end of May 2021) and distribution, as well as a 15% stake in La Financière de l'Echiquier6 .
The remaining 85% of La Financière de l'Echiquier's share capital will remain held by Primonial's current shareholders, while Altarea will benefit from a value protection mechanism for its stake.
Primonial is a leading group in fast-growing markets whose expertise has strong synergy potential with Altarea:
7 From 2017 to 2020. Source IEIF
6 Asset manager for financial products OCITS (equities, debt instruments, structured products) with€13 billion assets under management as of end of May 2021.
8 SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) certification obtained for SCPI Primopierre and OPCI PREIM ISR
Altarea and Primonial combined expertise will act as a powerful driver of innovation for both groups' customers:
Revenues for the perimeter to be acquired come almost entirely from the real estate asset management activity, which is highly recurring:
The EBITDA of the acquired perimeter represents on average between 0.40% and 0.50% of the AuM. By 2025, Primonial aims to increase real estate assets under management to € 50 billion.
9 Amount of real estate assets under management of €30 billion as of end of May 2021.
The enterprise value of the acquired perimeter is around €1.9 billion, excluding a potential earn-out10 , corresponding to a multiple of around 12-13x the average EBITDA over 2022-202311 .
With a strong financial structure and high liquidity12, Altarea has structured this transaction to maintain financial flexibility to pursue its development over the long term.
For this reason, Altarea is carrying out a substantial equity raise of €1.2 billion for the transaction complemented by a €800 million banking loan with a syndicate of four mandated banking partners (BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, Natixis and Société Générale). This loan will have a 5-year term (up to 7 years including extension options).
Equity raise breakdown is as follows:
Primonial shares will be acquired (and the corresponding payments made) in two steps (60% in Q1 2022 and 40% in Q1 2024)14 via a subsidiary of Altareit15 .
Altarea's Supervisory Board unanimously approved this strategic transaction, proposed terms and structure.
The consultation process for employee representatives have been initiated in accordance with applicable legislation.
The acquisition of Primonial is subject to the customary regulatory and antitrust approvals. Altarea does not expect to encounter any difficulties in getting these approvals.
10 Maximum €225 million earnout payable in 2024 depending on achievement of the 2022-2023 business plan.
11 This range covers the potential earnout payment.
12 The Group currently holds €2.8 billion in available cash (€1.7 billion at corporate level and €1.1 billion at project level).
13 Years of dividend payment. Subject to approval by the General Shareholders' Meeting for the years in question.
14 In Q1 2022, bank financing set up € 0.8bn and disbursement of around € 0.7bn for the acquisition of 60% of the shares, and in Q1 2024, disbursement of around 0.5bn € for the balance of the securities (40%) and payment of the potential price supplement.
15 Altareit is a listed company that groups taxable businesses altogether. Altareit is 99.85% owned by Altarea.
Both business lines will be backed by a fully integrated distribution platform, thus making Altarea the leading distributor of property investment products in France (with an average distributed amount of €7 to €9 billion yearly), equally spread equally between products (direct18/ indirect19 real estate) and customers (institutional/individual).
16 Including Primonial Group employees.
17 Operating income before changes in value, calculated expenses and transaction costs.
18 Annual residential and business property new orders of Altarea.
19 Annual inflow of Primonial in real estate.
These two major transactions will allow Altarea to reinforce its business profile, maintain its financial strength and enhance its growth prospects.
The Group has set the following targets for 2025, subject to a stabilized health environment:
Altarea was advised on this transaction by Morgan Stanley, Weill Gotshal & Manges LLP and De Pardieu Brocas Maffei as well as by BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, Natixis, Société Générale, Allen & Overy and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Altarea is the leading property developer in France and leader in the urban transformation market. As both developer and investor, the Group operates in the three main property markets (Retail, Residential and Business Property), making it the leading developer of large mixed-use urban renewal projects in France. The Group has the required expertise in each sector to design, develop, market and manage made-to-measure property products. Altarea is listed in Compartment A of Euronext Paris.
Eric Dumas, Chief Financial Officer [email protected] │ +33 1 44 95 51 42
Pierre Perrodin, Deputy Chief Financial Officer [email protected] │ +33 6 43 34 57 13
Agnès Villeret - KOMODO [email protected] │ +33 6 83 28 04 15
Nathalie Bardin [email protected] │+33 6 85 26 15 29
Brunswick Guillaume Maujean │ +33 6 67 74 36 89 Hugues Boëton │ +33 6 79 99 27 15 [email protected]
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to purchase Altarea shares. For more detailed information concerning Altarea, please refer to the documents available on our website www.altarea.com. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements that are based solely on information currently available and are only valid as of the date of this document. They are not guarantees of the Altarea Group's future performance. While Altarea believes that such statements are based on reasonable assumptions at the date of publication of this document, they are by nature subject to risks and uncertainties which are unknown or that Altarea is unable to predict or control which may lead to differences between real figures and those indicated or inferred from such statements.
This press release must not be published, circulated, or distributed, directly or indirectly, in any country in which the distribution of this information is subject to legal restrictions.
20 Based on the expected average number of shares created as part of the capital increase and the partial payment of the dividend in securities.
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