European private equity firm Cinven today announces that it has agreed to acquire Tractel (‘the Group’) the global player in lifting and handling, suspended access and safety equipment and other products associated with working-at-height. These products include pulleys, hoists, suspended working platforms and safety elements.  The consideration for the transaction is not disclosed.

Headquartered in Luxembourg, Tractel sells its products in 120 countries worldwide through a network of over 8,000 industrial distributors.  Established in 1941, today the Group has a global presence and its products have a longstanding and strong reputation for their quality, reliability and safety within the highly demanding working at height sector.  In 2015, the Group generated pro forma revenues of €159 million. It employs about 800 people and has operations in nine countries.

Working together, Cinven’s Industrials and French teams identified Tractel as an attractive investment opportunity due to:

  • Its number one position in the majority of its market segments and the strong reputation for the reliability and safety of its products;
  • Its organic growth prospects driven by the expected upturn in the construction industry across Europe and the US;
  • The Group’s highly effective and scalable distribution network which can quickly leverage positive national and regional economic trends; and
  • Its strong position as a consolidation platform given the fragmented nature of the working at height sector, as well as Cinven’s significant experience of successful ‘buy and build’ strategies across several sectors.

In addition, the Tractel acquisition reinforces Cinven’s strong investment track record in the French market. Its most recent investment in France is Labco, the European diagnostics laboratory operator – recently combined with Synlab to create the largest clinical laboratory services company in Europe. Cinven’s successful French investments include Sebia, a leading diagnostics equipment business and Numericable, a leading cable operator which was successfully floated on the NYSE Euronext Paris and then acquired by Altice. Under Cinven’s ownership, both these companies grew substantially following significant investment in their operations and generated highly attractive returns for Cinven’s investors.

Commenting on this transaction, Xavier Geismar, a Partner at Cinven said:“Tractel is a successful business operating in a highly fragmented market.  The Cinven team has spent a considerable amount of time targeting investment opportunities in the Industrials sector and had identified the “working at height” sub-sector as particularly compelling. We believe there are significant opportunities to grow Tractel as a result of the expected upturn in the company’s end-markets in Europe and the US, as well as through acquisitions.  The Cinven team has significant experience of growing businesses internationally. We have successfully executed numerous ‘buy and build’ strategies for our portfolio companies and we look forward to working with the highly experienced Tractel management team to achieve strong growth.”

Mr. Denis Pradon, Chief Executive of Tractel, added:”We see our future collaboration with Cinven as a new development opportunity for Tractel, from both geographical and operational stand points. Tractel will benefit from Cinven’s expertise and support, especially in the analysis of external growth opportunities.”

Tractel represents Cinven’s 13th investment from Cinven’s Fifth Fund. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.