Vacanceselect, a major player in the European outdoor accommodation and camping industry, has been acquired by European Camping Group for nearly €1 billion.
The move sees European Camping Group, a French group with over 300 campsites under management, add over 270 campsites and outdoor parks to its portfolio. The assets of Vacanceselect are mainly based in tourist destinations such as France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Croatia.
“The combination of European Camping Group and Vacanceselect creates a European leader in the outdoor accommodation space, offering more than 400 destinations to our clients. Our combined offering will be even more attractive to European families,” said Alain Calmé, President of European Camping Group.
Both companies are backed by private equity firms. Vacanceselect was owned by Permira (which took a majority stake in 2015) and minority shareholders including The Ganivenq Family and Batipart. European Camping Group has been majority owned by PAI Partners since September 2021.
Bertrand Monier, a partner at PAI Partners, said that the company was attracted to Vacanceselect due to the transformational scale it adds to European Camping Group, at a time when the sector is proving its resilience to downturns. “We expect the outdoor accommodation and camping sector to remain well-protected from the current volatile macro environment.”
Buyer PAI Partners was advised by Roland Berger (commercial due diligence) and Kearney (operations due diligence). Other dealmakers were: Rothschild & Co and BNP Paribas (M&A advisory), Shearman & Sterling (legal), Clifford Chance (antitrust), PwC (financial), and Mayer Brown (tax).
Permira meanwhile was advised by Amala Partners (M&A advisory), Clifford Chance (legal), and PwC (financial).
The transaction, is subject to customary closing conditions, including an employee consultation process and antitrust approvals.
Sourced from Consultancy.eu