(AOF) – The investment company Wendel has released a revalued net asset (ANR) down slightly for the second quarter, standing at the end of June at 7.246 billion euros, or 163.2 euros per share. The group’s consolidated turnover increased by 6.5% to 3.45 billion euros. Wendel also announced that it had completed the acquisition of the French digital transformation consulting group Scalian from the Belgian holding company Cobepa. Investment amount: 557 million euros in equity for an enterprise value of approximately 965 million euros.
Wendel owns 82% of Scalian’s capital, alongside the company’s management.
At the end of June, the group had 2.6 billion euros in local liquidity, including 1.7 billion euros in available cash.
Alongside its quarterly results, Wendel said on Monday that it had signed an agreement to sell Constantia Flexibles, one of the world leaders in the flexible packaging market for consumer goods and pharmaceuticals, to a subsidiary of One Rock Capital Partners. .
It would be sold for a value that would generate for Wendel net proceeds from the sale of just under 1.1 billion euros, and which would represent approximately 1.94 times the group’s total investment in Constantia Flexibles since 2015.
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Key points
– Investment company born in 1704 and European number one in private equity;
– Portfolio of €8.9 billion, split between listed companies -Bureau Veritas, IHS and Tarkett- for 50% and unlisted holdings for 39% -Cromology, Stahl, Constantia Flexibles, CPI, ACAMS, etc.;
– Turnover of €7.5 billion split between North America for 28%, Asia-Pacific for 26%, South America for 7%, France for 9% and the rest of the Europe for 17%;
– Business model:
– taking control or influence of 7 to 10 leading companies,
– breakdown of assets between direct holding and via the Oranje Nassau holding company,
– investment envelope of nearly €1 billion per year and debt control,
– double-digit average return rate, regular increase in distribution;
– Management Board led by Laurent Mignon and Supervisory Board of 11 members led by Nicolas von Hulst, the Wendel family holding 37.7% of the shares and 50.77% of the voting rights;
– Solid financial position with an LTV ratio of 5.8% and cash of €1.7 billion at the end of September, with debt at an average cost of 1.7% and with a maturity of 6.6 years.
Challenges
– 2021-2024 roadmap redefined in 2023:
– portfolio of 7 to 10 companies with equity investments of €2 billion, i.e.
300 to 600 M€ per unit, in Western Europe and North America
– ramping up of Wendel Growth to 10% of development capital, with investments divided between funds specializing in disruptive companies and direct investments in start-ups,
– priority to majority holdings in unlisted companies,
– dividend set at around 2%, on average, of revalued net assets;
– Innovation strategy aimed at seizing the levers of value creation in digital,
– new management of “IT strategy and digital transformation”
– HR and ERP Finance IS deployments and reinforcement of cybersecurity,
– reinforcement of Wendel Lab, both in charge of investments in funds invested in digital and disruptive companies or directly in start-ups (€167 million in total commitments);
– CSR strategy “Being exemplary” activating 4 levers: behavior as a company, investment and portfolio management strategies, eco-design and climate:
– compensation of employees partially indexed to ESG criteria,
– integration of ESG criteria in the investment process -54% of revenues provided by services or products with social and environmental added value,
– eco-efficiency in the operational process in order to reduce the carbon footprint,
– loan launch and syndicated loan with ESG criteria.
Challenges
– Change in revalued net assets per share, €167.9, to be compared with the stock market price;
– Strong sensitivity to Bureau Veritas, 1st contributor to profits;
– Launch of a management activity on behalf of third parties;
– 2022 dividend of 3.20 euros, up +6.7% and share buyback programs.