Deal Details

Acquisition of Environmental Scientifics Group Ltd ("ESG") from 3i Group plc

---

Summary

About

The SOCOTEC Group (“SOCOTEC” or the “Company”), a portfolio company of Cobepa S.A. (“Cobepa”) and Five Arrows Principal Investments (“FAPI”), recently announced the acquisition of Environmental Scientifics Group Ltd (“ESG”) from 3i Group plc (“3i”) (LSE:III). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

SOCOTEC is France’s leader in construction inspection services and ranks among the country’s leading equipment verification companies. Through its inspection and measurement, assistance and consultancy, and training and certification services, SOCOTEC helps to optimize the performance of companies in every sector by managing the risks inherent in their activities. The Company, with 5,200 employees, delivers its services to 200,000 clients spanning across over 40 countries. SOCOTEC is headquartered in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France.

Cobepa is an evergreen investment company with a net worth of €2 billion, with offices in Brussels and New York. Since 2004, its shareholder base is comprised solely of several industrial families thereby providing Cobepa with the stability to have a medium- to long-term investment horizon. Cobepa has gradually and consistently grown its investment portfolio, with a clear focus on investing in national or global leaders operating in growing industries. Cobepa is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

Five Arrows Principal Investments (FAPI) is the European private equity firm of Rothschild Merchant Banking. Based in London, Paris and Luxembourg, its investment professionals manage €1.5 billion of capital focused on investing in lower middle market companies in Western Europe. Taking a long term view, FAPI invests alongside successful entrepreneurs, families, management, financial sponsors and corporates.

ESG is the United Kingdom's leading provider of testing, inspection and compliance services, offering comprehensive solutions for the Infrastructure, Built Environment and Energy & Waste sectors. ESG, which employs more than 1,400 people, delivers in excess of seven million tests a year to over 5,000 customers. ESG is headquartered in Burton-On-Trent, England.

3i is an investment company with two complementary businesses, Private Equity and Infrastructure, specializing in core investment markets in Northern Europe and North America. Its Private Equity team provides investment solutions for growing companies, backing entrepreneurs and management teams of mid-market companies with an EV typically between €100m - €500m. 3i is a FTSE 100 company and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

---

CONTACT US TO LEARN MORE