Investor trio team up to acquire cashmere label Eric Bompard

By

Sarah Ahssen

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jan 9, 2018

Apax Partners, the British private equity firm specialised in backing European SMEs, together with French sovereign fund BPIFrance, via two of its local investment funds, have joined forces with entrepreneur Xavier Marie, founder of Maisons du Monde, to acquire French cashmere label Eric Bompard.

The thirty-year-old family company has entered into exclusive negotiations with the three investors, and expects to finalise the operation in the first quarter of 2018. The objective is to boost Bompard's international footprint and accelerate the expansion of its online business.

Last October, FashionNetwork.com reported how dynamic French entrepreneur Xavier Marie entered into exclusive negotiations for Bompard's acquisition, targeting another label after the acquisitions of Bonton, Rautureau, Paule Ka and, more recently, Le Petit Souk. At the time, some analysts suggested that the cashmere label's valuation might reach €130 million, in other words ten times its EBITDA.

Eric Bompard was founded over thirty years ago, and generates a revenue of approximately €90 million. The group operates 56 stores and claims it sells 500,000 items per year.

The investors' consortium "is expected to take over the majority of the capital, with Xavier Marie holding the largest stake, while the Bompard family is planning to reinvest alongside its new partners, maintaining a minority interest," Apax Partners told the AFP agency.

Xavier Marie has recently built up a sizeable brand portfolio, and this time he is looking to his fellow investors, BPIFrance and Apax Partners, to support him in growing the French cashmere brand's business.