“A new Pierre et Vacances is born with this agreement”, rejoices its CEO – Boursorama

The European number one in leisure residences announced Monday, December 20 that it was in exclusive negotiations with a group of British investors who will inject 200 million euros of equity and carry out massive deleveraging.

Did Pierre et Vacances go out of business? Very affected by the Covid-19 health crisis and weighed down by massive debt, the European number one in leisure residences announced Monday, December 20 to have concluded

an exclusive negotiation agreement

until January 31 with a consortium of investors made up of its creditors Alcentra and Fidera and its lessor Atream, for a recapitalization and a major debt conversion.

The operation, which received an agreement in principle from the main financial creditors, provides for

an injection of 200 million euros of equity

via two capital increases, one of which, of 150 million, reserved for the consortium, and

a “massive deleveraging”

via the conversion into capital of more than “551 million euros of debt”, in the coming months.

“A new Pierre et Vacances-Center Parcs is born with this agreement”

, rejoices with the

AFP

Franck Gervais, CEO of the group of 12,000 employees, welcoming “a historic agreement”. “It allows to keep, unified, this group whose brands Center Parcs, Pierre et Vacances, Maeva and Adagio offer all the experiences expected today by customers, in a tourism profoundly modified by the Covid-19: much more close, responsible, authentic, in family … “, he estimates.

“A page turns”

This restructuring is not just financial. The trio of investors will take power, which until then had been held by the founder Gérard Bremond, 84 years old. “Ultimately the three investors, Alcentra, Fidera and Atream will have 50 to 60% of the capital, the creditors 30% and the current shareholders, 10 to 15%.

A page turns

, Mr. Brémond steps aside but he is very comfortable with that, because his wish was to see the group continue in its integrity “, assures Mr. Gervais.

“We must salute this strong symbolic act, and Mr. Brémond refocuses on what he likes: being a business provider for the real estate company that will be created and will hold the group’s real estate. This real estate company simplifies our model: the group was too complicated, not financially efficient enough.

It will now be much more solid.

We must now achieve the performance promised to investors. We finally have the means, ”he explains.

The last few months have made him optimistic, believes Franck Gervais. “Since we were able to reopen in June, we’ve had a great summer and a great fall, above 2019, and above budget forecast. C

This means that we have the right positioning, the right products, and that the strategy of going upmarket and offering authentic experiences in contact with nature is a hit ”

, he congratulates himself.