Bridgepoint acquires French casino operator Moliflor Loisirs

family business founded in 1948, Moliflor was the subject of an MBI in 1999. It quickly developed by acquisition to become a major national group that now employs over 1400 people and has over 1700 slot machines in 20 casinos located principally in medium sized-towns throughout France. In 2005, the company is forecast to generate €260 million in gross gaming revenue and turnover of ancillary activities. The French casino sector is estimated to be worth €2.5 billion in annual gross gaming revenues.

Bridgepoint expects Moliflor, under the leadership of Marc Leonard who has headed the group since 1999, to consolidate its position domestically through selective acquisition opportunities and organic growth on the back of local authority initiatives as well as the roll-out of more sophisticated marketing and the development of complementary products.

"As we do with all of our majority investments, we will support the management team in pursuing value creation by accelerating the business's development to ensure that it is well positioned to take part in sector consolidation opportunities." said Valerie Texier, partner at Bridgepoint in Paris.

"The casino sector in France is developing as a serious alternative leisure past time, becoming an increasingly sophisticated market that is undergoing major change."

Debt for the transaction is provided by Bank of Ireland, as Mandated Lead Arranger. Advisers involved in this transaction included: for Bridgepoint - CIBC (corporate finance), Latham & Watkins (legal) and Ernst & Young (financial due diligence); for the vendor - Lazard (corporate finance) and Linklaters (legal); for management - Franklin (legal); for Bank of Ireland - Linklaters (legal).