French private equity house Eurazeo has acquired OFI Private Equity, a French firm which invests in small and medium enterprises, in a deal that values OFI at €132m.
Eurazeo says the acquisition is part of a strategy to target private equity firms investing in companies with “significant transformation potential”. OFI invests in companies with an enterprise value of less than €200m and currently has ten firms in its portfolio.
“The SME [small and medium enterprise] segment in which OFI Private Equity is active is very attractive for Eurazeo in terms of transactions potential and recurrent capital gains,” said Eurazeo CEO Patrick Sayer. He added that OFI “has a portfolio of quality assets with companies that are leaders in their sectors, led by skilled management teams”.
The news follows a study by research firm Preqin that claims the biggest private equity companies in Europe will attempt to raise more than €70bn from investors in the next 12 to 18 months. The funds could be used to finance more mergers and acquisitions in the sector.
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