(Press Release) Ecus Private Equity, an independent private equity funds manager focused on Chile’s small and middle market, sold its stake in Albia to Elis for US$14m, realizing a total MOI of 5.0x and an IRR of 24.3% over the 8-year holding period.
Santiago, Chile, October 7th, 2015: Ecus Private Equity (“Ecus” or the “Group”) along with its partner and the management team sold 100% of Albia ( the “Company”) to Elis, the leading multi- services group in Europe and Brazil with sales over € 1.3 billion, specializing in the rental and maintenance of professional clothing, textile articles, hygiene and well-being appliances.
In an initially very fragmented market, Ecus helped Albia consolidate as Chile’s leading industrial laundry through organic growth and add-on acquisitions, forming a network of 8 plants, reaching a 25% market share and positioning Albia as the only player in the local market capable of serving large corporate clients, mainly in the healthcare, hospitality and mining industries, requiring a single nationwide provider for their laundry services.
Ecus also assisted Albia with the enhancement of its corporate governance and organizational structure, putting in place a professional management team, with which Ecus worked closely to transform the Company from a family-owned business to an efficient and autonomous one.
During the holding period, the Company experienced continued growth throughout economic cycles, with sales growing at a 20% CAGR. Additionally, Albia achieved a 25% EBITDA CAGR between 2007 and 2015, driven mainly by client base atomization and diversification, improved pricing policies, plant automation and a strong focus on efficiency improvements.
With this acquisition Elis continues its growth strategy in Latin America, and expects the transfer of know-how and purchase synergies to contribute to Elis’ profitable growth trajectory going forward.
For Ecus, the sale of Albia to Elis marks an important milestone in the life of its first fund, which currently holds Chile’s leading third-party logistics (3PL) provider among its portfolio companies.
