A double deal is closing in France for Italy’s Banca Leonardo, an investment bank and asset manager chaired by Gerardo Braggiotti and controlled by French Eurazeo (19,3%), the Agnelli family’s holding Exor (17,37%), the Pesenti family’s holding Italmobiliare (2,89%), German insurance group Allianz and Italy’s Seragnoli group (2,7%),
France based banking group Natixis, which is controlled by French co-operative BPCE, announced yesterday with two separate press releases that it intends to buy both French m&a advisory activities of Leonardo &Co sas (controlled by Banca Leonardo) (download here the press release) and the entire capital of asset manager DNCA Finance, which is controlled by US private equity firm TA Associates with a 50% stake, by Banca Leonardo (10%) and by the management (download here the press release).
More in detail, Natixis will buy a controlling stake in Leonardo France tigether with the managment led by Patrick Maurel. Natixis will pay about 20 million euros for Leonardo France, which has been closing about 30 m&a deals per year in the last few years.
As for DNCA, an interest by Natixis has been rumored since last October when also Affiliated Managers Group was told to have the dossier on its desk. Last December DNCA’s ceo, Eric Franc, confirmed the press that an auction was on managed by Credit Suisse and Fenchurch Advisory Partners and that DNCA management might have sold a small stake of the company’s capital.
Now Natixis announced that it is in exclusive talks with DNCA’s shareholders in order to by a 71% stake at first at a 549 million euros price. The deal will be made through Natixis Global Asset Management. TA Associates and Banca Leonardo will sell all their stakes while DNCA’s managers will remain in the company’s capital along with Natixis but will be reducing their stake starting from 2016. In the medium term Natixis will own 100% of DNCA.
TA Associates acquired its stake in DNCA’s capital in 2011 from Banca Leonardo. In 2011 DNCA was managing about 5.8 billion euros of assets while at the end of last january the company was managing 14.6 billions. In 2011 there had been no official valuation for the transaction but rumors were that DNCA had an enterprise value in a range of 300-400 million euros. As assets under management are now three times the ones back in 2011 this means that DNCA might be valued about one billion euros.
As for TA Associates, divestment from DNCA will be a good business card to give to its potential investors as the firm is now in fundraising for its 12th fund. The last fund had been raised in 2009 with 4 billion dollars of committements  and at  the end of last March it had gained a 17-1% net Irr (see the California State Teachers’ Retirement System Private equity portfolio performance report).
