Case studies

In partnership with Apax, Tommy Hilfiger’s new management team redefined its strategy to reflect the brand’s global presence and premium brand positioning. Over the past four years, Tommy Hilfiger has acquired its Japanese licensee, entered into a ground breaking exclusive department store distribution agreement with Macy’s in the US, sold its sourcing operations to Li & Fung, re-launched its e-commerce business in cooperation with D+S, another Apax portfolio company, and consolidated its supplier base to enable the company to maintain profitable growth in challenging times.

During its investment period, BPE introduced a new management team, expanded sales into Germany and Japan, and invested in a new manufacturing facility in Derbyshire.

Charterhouse Capital Partners brings the Deb Group access to a larger amount of investment capital and a very high level of professional expertise within their management team.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges has advised its long-standing private equity client Lion Capital on its sale of all UK and US operations of the Kettle Foods Group to Diamond Foods, Inc, the leading packaged food company, for $615 million in cash.

Lyndon Lea, Partner of Lion Capital, said “Our successful ownership of Kettle Foods reflects Lion’s distinctive strategy of investing in and growing strong consumer brands”.

AXA Private Equity, the European diversified private equity firm, has agreed to divest its 65.6% stake in Spotless Group following a successful five year plan to build up the company into the leader in the European laundry & home care market. The company has been acquired by BC Partners and the management

The founder of Character World, a maker and distributor of branded textiles such as duvet sets, owes much to investment from private equity groups.

D+S europe AG is a leading international e-commerce and customer service provider listed on the Deutsche Börse. The company’s e-commerce division provides the tools that enable some of the world’s biggest fashion names to maintain their competitive edge in the online sphere. The business looks after all of the elements involved in ensuring that customers get the best online treatment, including the design and operation of online shops, warehousing, delivery of goods, and payment processing. The customer service division provides essential call centre support to some of Germany’s largest companies and is now the country’s third-largest provider of value-added telephony services.

Capio is a Swedish provider of healthcare services for both public and private customers via its private “acute general hospitals” (privately funded hospitals which admit patients for surgical operations and other medical treatments), diagnostic centres and private psychiatric hospitals. It is active in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, France, Spain, Germany and the UK. As a listed company, it had become a leading provider of healthcare services in European, expanding into several markets.

Debitel to serve 14 million customers and become the leading distributer of mobile phones in Germany, with a retail network of more than 6,000 sites in Germany alone. The company’s private equity backer Permira facilitated the transformation of the company, helping it to overcome a number of major challenges.

Maxeda is the leading non-food retailer and food service business in the Netherlands. It employs around 28,000 people internationally, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, as well as non European markets.

When Acromas, the holding company for two of Britain’s most iconic brands, the AA and Saga, was bought by Charterhouse, Permira and CVC, critics questioned whether the private equity model would work. In the toughest recession for decades, however, the company has proved incredibly resilient.