(AOF) – Wendel has announced the appointment of Cyril Marie as Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Strategy and Corporate Development as of July 25. In this capacity, he will be in charge of external growth and development projects (M&A, management companies and strategic partnerships) as part of the implementation within Wendel of a new asset management activity on behalf of third parties, as announced last March.
Cyril Marie, 48, has more than 15 years of experience in asset management. He joined Groupe BPCE in 2002 where he held several positions within the Finance and Strategy Department. In 2009, he joined Natixis Investment Manager with the mission of supervising the global strategy and development opportunities. He became Chief Financial Officer in 2017.
As part of his duties, he participated in the development of Natixis’ multi-affiliate model through the acquisition and creation of management companies and by chairing the Boards of Directors of numerous affiliates.
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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, of €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.