OpCapita
 | |
| LLP | |
| Industry | Finance |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Area served | Global (with current focus on Europe) |
| Website |
www |
OpCapita is a European private equity firm specialising in the retail, consumer and leisure industries. The firm invests in underperforming businesses that require operational support to improve profitability and create long-term, sustainable value. OpCapita was established in 2006 by American financier Henry Jackson. Its senior team have been together since the founding of the firm and have many decades of experience in consumer businesses.[1] The firm is based in London and invests on behalf of a diversified group of international institutional investors. OpCapita is a full member of Invest Europe and a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.
History
In October 2006, OpCapita acquired British furniture retailer MFI Group for £1.[2] In March 2008, it acquired French retailer BUT.[3] In November 2011, the firm purchased the electronics retailer Comet from Kesa for £2.[4]
In March 2012, OpCapita, through its subsidiary Baker Acquisitions, purchased Game UK out of administration.[5] A second subsidiary, Cherrilux Investments, was set up to buy Game's Spanish operations.[6] In October 2012, after a story about OpCapita considering a sale of Comet leaked to the press,[7] suppliers lost confidence in the chain, and it subsequently entered administration. By 18 December 2012, all of Comet's stores had ceased operations.
On 27 November 2013, it was announced that OpCapita had acquired NKD,[8] a 2,000 store retailer in Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia. OpCapita Operating Partner John von Spreckelsen became the Senior Shareholder Representative.
On 19 May 2014, Game announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange.[9] OpCapita Operating Partner David Hamid, Chairman of Game, was quoted as saying, “The turnround of the Game business is remarkable.”[10] By December 2014, Game had a market value in excess of £600 million, or more than 12x what OpCapita had paid for the business in 2012.[11]
On 3 November 2014, OpCapita Consumer Opportunities Fund LP, OpCapita's first institutional fund raised from European and US investors, announced the acquisition of La Sirena Alimentacion Congelada S.L.U., the leading frozen food retailer in Spain. The price was not disclosed, but press reports suggested they paid €30 million. 3i had paid €150 million for the business in 2006.[12]
Financial News reported on 19 December 2014, that OpCapita had closed its début fund at just over £100M. [13] On 12 December 2014, Private Equity International announced it had nominated OpCapita for Special Situations Firm of the Year. [14] On 1 October 2015, OpCapita won Private Equity International's Operational Excellence Award for its successful turnaround of Game. [15]
Private Equity International reported on 2 June 2016 that OpCapita Consumer Opportunities Fund had acquired AppelrathCüpper from global buyout house Advent International. [16] The purchase price was not disclosed. PEI said this was the final investment from the OpCapita Consumer Opportunities Fund but that there is some capital remaining in the fund for additional investment into the existing portfolio companies.
On 29 July 2016, Unquote reported that OpCapita, backed by Goldman Sachs and Colony Capital, had exited French homeware chain BUT for an estimated €525 million. The sale followed an extensive programme of operational improvement including reducing prices, changing sourcing to improve quality and reduce costs, exiting low margin products to focus on furniture and accessories, improving the promotional strategy and marketing, investing in every store to drive increased sales and increasing the number of stores to 303 at the time of the exit, leading to a market share gain from 9% to 13% during the holding period. The buyer was reported to be Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) and WM Holding, an investment vehicle of Austrian furniture giant XXXL Lutz. [17]
Private Equity International reported on 6 September 2016 that OpCapita had closed its Fund II at the hard cap of €350 million. It said the fund was raised from mid-April to the end of June and was significantly oversubscribed. It added that the majority of investors in the fund, by both number and size, were pension plans, both public and corporate, university endowments and charitable foundations and that the success of the fundraise was as a result of the firm’s track record, which investors had been following closely in recent years. [18]
Investments
Former investments
References
- ↑ Privately Speaking - Private Equity International October 2016
- ↑ Telegraph, MEP acquired MFI stores for £1
- ↑ Colony Capital, Goldman Sachs and Merchant Equity acquire BUT - Unquote France 1 Mar 2008
- ↑ Kesa's Comet suitor will raise funding-source - Reuters 2 Dec 2011
- ↑ "Game Group shops sold to OpCapita". BBC News. 1 April 2012.
- ↑ Jessica Conditt (13 April 2012). "Game Iberia's 291 stores sold to UK buyer's 'sister company'". Joystiq. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ↑ BBC News (19 October 2012). "OpCapita 'exploring sale'- BBC News". BBC News.
- ↑ OpCapita Agrees Buyout of NKD - AltAssets, 28 November 2013
- ↑ OpCapita To Float Game - Real Deals 19 May 2014
- ↑ Game Retail confirms London listing plan - Financial Times 19 May 2014
- ↑ London Stock Exchange Game Digital Share Price
- ↑ OpCapita Buys Spanish Frozen Food Retailer - Financial Times 3 November 2014
- ↑ OpCapita Closes Début Fund - Financial News 19 December 2014
- ↑ Private Equity International 12 December 2014
- ↑ Private Equity International 1 October 2015
- ↑ OpCapita Sweeps Up AppelrathCüpper from Advent - Private Equity International 2 June 2016
- ↑ Deal In Focus - Unquote 29 July 2016
- ↑ OpCapita Hits €350 million Hard-cap on Fund II - Exclusive - Private Equity International 6 September 2016