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Permira invests $500m in Intelligrated

The European buyout shop has agreed to another deal through its fourth flagship fund as it tries to raise €6.5bn on Fund V.

By
Sam Sutton
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Permira has agreed to acquire material handling solutions company Intelligrated in a deal valued at $500 million, the firm announced in a statement. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close at some point in the third quarter. 

Intelligrated’s management will retain a minority stake of between 10 percent and 15 percent, according to a market source. The company designs and installs material handling systems for the warehousing, distribution, consumer product manufacturing, postal and parcel markets.

Permira made the investment through its fourth fund, the source said. Fund IV raised €9.4 billion in 2006 and was generating a 1.26x multiple as of 19 April, according to a market source. 

Permira divested €1.3 billion over the course of 2011. This included a 2.1x partial realisation of its investment in Galaxy Entertainment and a 2.3x multiple on the sale of Provimi to Cargill, according to its annual report. 

Even though some of its investments posted strong returns in 2011, the firm has had its missteps in recent years. Permira suffered losses in the acquisition of gaming group Gala Coral — a Fund III investment — alongside co-investors Candover Partners and Cinven.

Despite investing €3 billion across 10 companies since 2008, as of June 2011, Permira still had roughly €1.5 billion in the fourth fund with 18 months to go in the investment period. The firm invested €1.1 billion over the course of 2011, which included equity for a $1.5 billion deal for US software company Genesys, according to its annual report.

The firm will likely make two or three deals before completing its fourth fund, the source said. Permira's equity checks are typically between $200 million and $500 million. 

The firm declined to comment on this story. 

Permira has already set about raising its fifth flagship fund, targeting €6.5 billion. The firm launched the fund last year. The fund will be substantially smaller than its fourth vehicle, which allowed LPs to reduced commitments during the credit crisis. 

Permira was founded in 1985. The firm maintains offices throughout Europe, North America and Asia.