goetzpartners advises EDITIS in the acquisition of Cherche Midi Editeur SA

Corporate Finance
28. April 2005

On the 28th April, 2005, Editis, a subsidiary owned wholly by the Wendel investment group, reached an agreement to acquire Cherche Midi Editeur. goetzpartners CORPORATE FINANCE acted as advisor to EDTIS in this acquisition.

goetzpartners worked on the definition of a business plan, the due diligence and the preparation of bank reference material (financial projections of the Editis group and revised covenants). goetzpartners also accompanied Editis in the structuring of this deal and provided support during negotiations with the seller.

Editis:
Editis, the second largest book publisher in France (le Robert, Nathan, Robert Laffont, 10-18, Plon-Perrin, La Découverte, etc.), has a strong footprint in the segments of literature, education & reference and games. Editis reported net revenues of EUR 717 million in 2004.

Cherche Midi Editeur will not only help Editis reinforce its offer in the literature segment but also help expand the activity of its distribution platform, Interforum.

Cherche Midi Editeur :
Cherche Midi Editeur was first founded in 1978 by Philippe Héraclès and Jean Orizet, its major shareholders, who have since maintained the dynamic and independence of the company which publishes about120 different titles per year.

Over the last 27 years, Cherche Midi Editeur has gained a solid reputation in the editorial field covering segments such as documents, French and foreign literature, humour, poetry practical guides and beautiful books. In 2004, the publishing house recorded net revenues of EUR 8.8 million. The company employs 27 people.

goetzpartners :
goetzpartners, with a team of 110 investment bankers and consultants in Germany, UK, Spain, France and the Czech Republic, is a leading European advisory firm offering corporate finance (goetzpartners Corporate Finance) and management consulting (goetzpartners Management Consulting) services.

Our investment bankers combine both financial expertise and in-depth sector knowledge with strategic flair and an extensive network of major market players and decision-makers.

The teams of goetzpartners include specialists in each of our sectors of expertise, in particular, Telecommunications, Media and Technology. goetzpartners’s professionals assist, clients, whether companies or investors, in all stages of development and investment by offering tailored services: M&A corporate finance advice, LBO, corporate partnering, fund raising, fairness opinions, etc.

In France, goetzpartners consists of 10 investment bankers and Senior Advisors and is the 2nd best-known merger & acquisitions advisor on the Media market. goetzpartners is ranked 5th in the TMT sector with two major deals in 2004: the acquisition of Editis by Wendel Investissement (660m€) and of SportFive by Advent International (550m€).

For more information please contact:
Franck PORTAIS
goetzpartners CORPORATE FINANCE
Tel : +33 (0)1 70 72 55 00
Fax : +33 (0)1 70 72 55 00
e-mail : portais@goetzpartners.com