Bimedia MBO supported by €12m unitranche deal

Omnes Capital’s leveraged buyout of Bimedia was supported by a €12 million unitranche financing provided by A Plus Finance and Idinvest, PDI understands. 

Omnes Capital has invested €9 million in equity in the company alongside Bimedia’s management team led by chief executive Olivier Kimmerling. Kimmerling and his team are taking over from Bimedia’s five founders, three of whom will retain an interest in the company. Alternative lender Idinvest also took a minority equity interest in the firm, investing €2 million, a source close to the deal said. 

The seven-year €12 million unitranche is structured with a bullet repayment. Idinvest and A Plus Finance are the sole senior creditors to the firm. The loan pays a margin of more than 9 percent, the source added.

Bimedia is a point-of-sale terminal and software provider. It services almost 6,000 small retailers and was founded in 2002. The deal comes ahead of a planned expansion drive with the borrower contemplating an acquisition. 

“This project, supported by our new ownership structure, ensures the continuity of Bimedia’s expansion strategy and gives us the wherewithal to reach our goals,” said Jean-Baptiste Pondevy, founder and chairman of Bimedia’s supervisory board.

This deal is the second primary investment by the Omnes Croissance 4 fund.

Idinvest, which became independent from Allianz Global Investors in 2010, has €5 billion of assets under management. In June, the firm closed on its third mezzanine fund, Idinvest Private Debt III, on €400 million, exceeding the hard-cap of €350 million.

The firm is also due to close its senior debt fund, Idinvest Dette Senior III, shortly. The target is €500 million but there may be some flexibility on the end figure in the range of €50 million-€100 million, Idinvest chairman Christophe Bavière, previously told PDI. 

French SME lender A Plus Finance managed and advised assets totalling €600 million, as of 31 December 2014.