Pitch Best Small Cap 2019: Charlie Temple – GrandVision
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Date deal closed
29 januari 2019 (announcement date)
Published value
< €50m
Buyer
GrandVision N.V.
Target
Charlie Temple
Seller
The founder and other shareholders
Involved firms and advisors sell side: (Financial, Legal, Transaction Services etc.)
- Rothschild & Co (Bastiaan Vaandrager, Sander Griffejoen and Johan Dubbeldeman)
- CORP. (Diederik Baas and Eric de Best)
- HVG Law (Sijmen de Lange and Boris Hoes)
Involved firms and advisors target: (Financial, Legal, Transaction Services etc.)
N/a
Involved firms and advisors buy side: (Financial, Legal, Transaction Services etc.)
- HAL Investments (Wouter Wolffenbuttel, Sander van Noorden and Thijs Willems)
- EY Tax Advisory (Hans Grimbergen, John van Geffen and Jim Schoenmaeckers)
- EY Transaction Services (Bruno Jelgerhuis Swildens, Erwin van den Hengel and Milou Saraber)
- NautaDutilh (Edger Kleijer, Celine Houwen, Michael Oldenburger, Edward Rijnhout, Paul Giebels and Sjuul Jentjens)
Brief description deal / Deal outline
- Rothschild & Co acted as sole financial adviser to the founder and other shareholders on the sale of Charlie Temple to GrandVision N.V.
- Charlie Temple is a leading online optical retailer in the Benelux and Germany with expertise in both prescription and non-prescription (sun)glasses. The Company is hugely popular with its growing and loyal customer base for its affordable pricing and high level of quality. It has grown exponentially since its founding in 2016, disrupting the traditional spectacles market with its online offering of high-quality spectacle products for low prices
- GrandVision is a listed optical retail chain that operates globally and offers a range of optical services. GrandVision operates under c.30 retail banners including Apollo-Optik, GrandVision, Pearle and Vision Express. HAL Investments, a Dutch long-term investor owns c.75% in the shares of GrandVision
- The transaction further strengthens Rothschild & Co’s track record as the reference adviser for the sale of founder- and family-owned businesses in the Netherlands and solidifies its leading position in the Technology and New Media space
Deal rationale
- Having the support of an international organization will allow Charlie Temple to accelerate its growth. At the same time, Charlie Temple will continue its business as an independent brand, executing on its existing strategy and preserving its own identity
- For GrandVision, the acquisition is an important step in its digital roadmap and will enable it to build a stronger presence in this segment of the online market at a much faster pace. Charlie Temple is a logical and highly compatible addition to its existing business in the Benelux and will serve as a platform for international expansion in the pureplay online spectacles segment. Charlie Temple fits perfectly in its commercial strategy of providing high quality eyewear at affordable prices
What is the impact of this deal for the company?
Charlie Temple will continue to operate as an independent brand, executing on its existing strategy and preserving its own identity while benefiting from the local and global synergies GrandVision can contribute to its business. Charlie Temple’s management team will remain unchanged, headed by founder and CEO Leon Planken
What is the impact of this deal for the direct stakeholders?
The transaction provided a profitable exit opportunity for the founder and shareholders, especially given that Charlie Temple only started operating in 2016. Following the transaction, Charlie Temple’s management team will continue to operate the business. Commitment from management was ensured through the creation of a bespoke earn-out structure
What is the impact of this deal on the society?
By leveraging GrandVision’s extensive customer base, Charlie Temple will be able to provide its essential eye care services to a larger part of the population. In addition, through the combination with GrandVision, Charlie Temple will be able to negotiate more advantageous supplier agreements, allowing them to offer sharper pricing on its spectacles, ultimately benefitting the customer
Why does this deal deserve a nomination?
Over the course of its engagement Rothschild & Co provided assistance and advice to the Founder and Investors with respect to:
- The strategic positioning of Charlie Temple in the Dutch and wider European (online) optical retail market
- The specific value proposition and added value towards GrandVision o The development of a detailed business plan on the basis of a coherent set of KPIs, capturing the (international) growth ambitions of the business and providing its client and GrandVision with detailed operational and strategic insight into the business
Furthermore, Rothschild & Co provided comprehensive advice with respect to the bilateral sale process:
- Designed a tailored bilateral transaction process with optimal sequencing of events to maintain a strong negotiation position and leaving no room for negotiation on price after review of the equity story and business plan
- Led the execution on all aspects of the bilateral process, including coordinating the due diligence exercise of GrandVision, structuring of the transactions (including finding a solution for the non-core wholesale operations of Charlie Temple) and leading negotiations on behalf of the Founder and Investors
Overall, Rothschild & Co’s approach has led to a favourable outcome where the interests of a varied group of shareholders, management and GrandVision have been balanced
