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Wallpaper manufacturer Grandeco Wallfashion Group, formally Balta Wallcoverings, has been subject to a management buy-out for an undisclosed sum, backed by Belgium’s largest investment company, GIMV.

As part of the deal, GIMV acquires 86% of the Belgium-based subsidiary of the Balta Group, owned by private equity firm Doughty Hanson.

Balta Group approached the investors, who in turn approached the management before buying the stake from Balta. The existing executive management and staff will remain with the firm.

Grandeco mainly produces high quality vinyl wallpaper under brand names a.o. Ideco and Grantil, as well as under its own label. In 2006, the firm generated sales of €75 million, (£50.94 million) with an ebitda of €8.9 million (£6.04 million). This result has been achieved with around 500 employees, the firm now hopes to add another 25 staff.

The company operates production sites in Tielt, Belgium and Châlons-en-Champagne, France. It also has a distribution centre in the UK in Alfreton.
Balta Wall coverings’ products are sold mainly in Benelux, France, Russia and the UK.

GIMV corporate investment specialises in mid-size unlisted companies with turnovers of between €20 million and €150 million. Besides its resident markets in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and France, GIMV is also active in the growth markets of Central and Eastern Europe.

They manage funds invested in, amongst others, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia and Kazakhstan. Next to corporate investments, GIMV also has venture capital teams specialised in ICT, life sciences and cleantech.

External legal advise to GIMV was provided by White&Case (Brussels). The team, led by Stefan Odeurs and Dries Hommez, liaised closely with their colleagues in Paris to ensure seamless cross-border completion of the deal.

Stefan Odeurs commented: “Thanks to the wide-ranging nature of our Brussels practice, we were able to advise on the transactional, the financial and the competition law aspects of this transaction. We also welcomed this opportunity to put the resources of our international network at the service of GIMV.”

Laga advised the management on market practices and available legal techniques throughout the deal that lasted six months. Laga's David Ryckaert led the legal advice to Grandeco’s management team.

Laga has a specialised private equity practice which is part of the broader M&A group. The M&A group consists of some 20 lawyers, headed by David Roelens and Thomas Denys.

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