Alantra has advised Astorg on the acquisition of IPCOM from Alpha Private Equity

Jul 2022

Buy-side advisory

Brussels – Alantra, the global investment banking firm and asset management specialist, is pleased to announce that it has advised Astorg, a European private equity firm, on the acquisition of IPCOM, a pan-European leading B2B specialty distributor of technical and building insulation products.

Astorg is a European private equity firm with over €17 billion of assets under management and offices in London, Paris, New York, Frankfurt, Milan, and Luxembourg. Astorg works with entrepreneurs and management teams to acquire market leading global companies headquartered in Europe or the US, providing them with the strategic guidance, governance, and capital they need to achieve their growth plans. The company has valuable industry expertise in healthcare, software, technology, business services and technology-based industrial companies.

IPCOM, founded in 2010 and headquartered in Belgium, employs 1,100 people across 15 countries in 64 outlets and 15 conversion sites. The company has a well-diversified customer base with more than 15,000 daily customers in a wide range of industries, and long-standing and loyal customer relationships. The group distributes more than 50,000 SKUs and manages more than 250,000 shipments per year.

IPCOM has delivered strong organic growth in the past thanks to its differentiated position in a niche market driven by the penetration of insulation and is poised to encounter accelerated development in the future due to regulation and ESG secular trends, insulation being a critical and short payback lever for energy efficiency.

Nicolas Marien, Partner and Head of France and Benelux at Astorg, said: “We firmly believe insulation is one of the top levers to improve energy efficiency and reach European Union net zero ambition for 2050. We look forward to having the opportunity to partner with the IPCOM management team to drive our shared strategic vision and ambition.”

Benjamin Cordonnier, Director of Business Services Investments at Astorg, added: “There is a significant opportunity to continue to consolidate the industry, leveraging our track-record in ambitious international buy-and-build strategies.”

This is Alantra’s second successful transaction on the buy-side advisory for IPCOM. In 2017, Alantra advised Alpha Private Equity on the acquisition of IPCOM from Waterland Private Equity.