Bilfinger GVA is poised to return to private equity ownership, with Swedish firm EQT the preferred bidder for its parent company’s building and facilities division.
A circa €1.4bn (£1bn) deal is expected to be confirmed at a meeting of Bilfinger GVA’s supervisory board on Monday. An announcement could be made as soon as Wednesday, with another board meeting scheduled for Thursday.
However, any agreement would need to have the support of the Mannheim-based company’s influential workers’ council, which has strong representation on the supervisory board and could yet resist a sale.
French facilities management firm ENGIE was the other party on a shortlist of two potential buyers. JLL and Triton Partners were also initially in the running.
EQT typically holds its investments for between four and eight years, with an average to date of 4.6 years.
GVA was previously controlled by private equity, with Lloyds Development Capital owning a 25.7% stake in the company prior to its sale to Bilfinger in 2014.
Should a deal with EQT go ahead, the new owner would have the option of retaining the division as a whole or selling off elements, including Bilfinger GVA.
It is understood that there is interest from rival property advisers to acquire GVA should EQT decide to sell it on. Lambert Smith Hampton owner Countrywide has been tracking the process throughout and is one of the parties eager to undertake such a subtrade.
LSH is on an aggressive expansion trail and came close to taking on Deloitte Real Estate’s transactional teams earlier this year. However, last month the teams decided to split and move to Gerald Eve, Knight Frank and Savills.
A merger of LSH and Bilfinger GVA would bring together two businesses with similar cultures. Both are focused on consultancy and the regions, but with different client bases.
Comment – David Hatcher, head of news and finance
There are two schools of thought on the future of GVA under EQT’s ownership.
Bilfinger GVA’s real estate advisory business represents less than a fifth of the value of the building and facilities unit being lined up by EQT, with facilities management at the heart of the business.
A facilities management business would be well supported by an advisory business and may be able to secure lucrative contracts from its clients. Selling GVA would only recoup a relatively small amount of cash for EQT in the context of the overall transaction.
On the other hand, strong competition would be likely if GVA was made available to the market, and it would be a quick way for EQT to return some of its outlay and allow it to concentrate on the core focus of the business it is looking to buy.
EQT’s portfolio
Established in 1994, Stockholm-based EQT has raised 18 funds totalling €29bn (£22bn) and employs 140,000 people through the companies in which it holds stakes. It has invested close to €17bn across 140 investments and exited approximately 80 of them.
Tiger
67% ownership, sales of DKK2,562m (£262m) in 2014
Founded in Copenhagen in 1995 by Lennart Lajboschitz with an emphasis on fun products. It has 600 stores across 26 countries in Europe, Japan and the US.
Sportradar
39% ownership, sales of €91m in 2014
A provider of live sports information and services. It collects, processes and markets sport-related data for media organisations and the betting industry.
Parkia
65% ownership, sales of €33m in 2015
Spanish car park operator with 58 sites across the country, totalling 27,000 spaces and employing 138 people. It merged with rival Mutua Madrileña in 2014.
China F&B
56% ownership, sales of RMB1,064m (£111m) in 2014
The operator of Dairy Queen and Papa John’s Pizza in China, it employs more than 6,500 people and is the largest ice cream restaurant chain in the country.
