Ardian arranges unitranche financing for Naxicap partners' acquisition on ECS

Founded in 1998 in Paris, ECS Group has built an efficient worldwide network of 137 offices across 47 countries, with over 1,000 staff working as a fully integrated organisation. ECS is a strategic partner for airlines and as their exclusive representative, markets and manages even their most complex cargo requirements.

Its global footprint is the product of both organic and external growth, resulting in a dense global network, with major recent acquisitions such as AVS in Asia (2016) and ExpAir in Canada (2017) strengthening ECS’s position in markets with strong growth potential.

In a market ripe for consolidation, offering a strong pool of build-up opportunities, the Company intends to pursue an active strategy of acquisitions, generating significant commercial synergies, while continuing to extend the range of services offered to clients, providing global and innovative solutions.

Backed by Alpha Private Equity since 2013, the management team selected Naxicap Partners for the next phase of growth, supported by a Unitranche facility provided by Ardian. “With ECS’ clear ambition of selectively penetrating and reinforcing its positions in key areas of its already broad network, the Unitranche alternative stood out as a compelling solution to accelerate the Company’s growth in the next few years” commented Grégory Pernot, Director of Private Debt at Ardian France.

Angèle Faugier, Partner at Naxicap Partners, added: “ECS has demonstrated an amazing growth trajectory under the leadership of Bertrand Schmoll and Adrien Thominet who have succeeded in both developing and structuring the Group around solid fundamentals (high-quality client portfolio, an integrated global network, efficient local teams, premium services). We are convinced that the Group has what it takes to establish itself as the major consolidation platform in the market and to be a driving force for innovation in the cargo industry. We want to provide its management team with the means to put their ambitious development plans into action, and are convinced that the expertise of Ardian, through this Unitranche financing, which grants us flexibility and speed of execution, will enable us to rapidly achieve our goals.”

“We are proud to have convinced Naxicap and ECS’ management team of the merits of our offer, and are delighted to be a key partner of the Group going forward. We have been very impressed by the Company’s historical development and by the quality and loyalty of the management team for over twenty years“ said Guillaume Chinardet, Head of Private Debt France and Managing Director at Ardian. “This is our 108th transaction since the creation of Ardian’s Private Debt activity, reflecting the longstanding track-record of the team since 2005, as well as our capacity to underwrite Unitranches of significant size.”