Whoa! Easyvoyage, the European travel site, has announced a second leveraged buyout of €31.6 million. That makes it the largest financial transaction in France and the 5th largest in Europe for this year, apparently.
The two new financial investors are UFG and GIMV. The initial shareholders Frederic Chevalier, Jacques Maillot, Francis Reverse, and Mogador Participations will maintain their position. Jean-Pierre Nadir, Founder and CEO now holds 40 per cent of the shares.
This second LBO follows an LBO of €9 million in December 2006. Easyvoyage has doubled revenue year-on-year.
The financial backing for Easyvoyage is ensured by the banks CIC and the Banque Populaire as well as two new ones: the BCME and the Caisse d’Epargne. Easyvoyage operates in Spain, Italy and the UK.
The site has 6 million unique users in France and according to ComScore is top 3 in Spain, top 5 in Italy and plans to launch in Germany in November this year.