Calyon plays a major role in one of the largest merger & acquisition transactions in the media sector

Calyon is financial advisor to Grupo Planeta for the EUR 1 billion acquisition of Editis and bookrunner and coordinator of the acquisition syndicated loan. The acquisition financing is structured in two facilities: one EUR 120 million tranche for the acquisition holding company, owned by Planeta and its shareholders, and one EUR 550 million tranche at Editis level to refinance existing debt.

This successful transaction was made possible by the co-ordinated efforts and persistence of Calyon's professionals from multiples teams in France and Spain. On May 30th 2008, Grupo Planeta finalised the acquisition of Editis from Wendel Investissements. For the past year, Calyon worked closely with Planeta on the identification of the opportunity, the preparation of the offer, the structuring of the financing, the approach and the negotiations with Wendel and the closing.

With a value of EUR 1,026 million, it is the largest acquisition ever made in France by a foreign media group and one of the largest media mergers & acquisition deal in Europe in 2008. Editis is the second largest French book publisher next to Hachette and the leader in its domestic market. With prestigious publishing brands such as Nathan, Bordas, Le Robert, Plon, Perrin and Robert Laffont, it generated sales of EUR 760 million and operating profit of EUR 93 million in 2007. Through this acquisition, Planeta becomes one of the leading European publishers of textbooks and literature and reaffirms its international ambitions.

José Manuel Lara, Planeta chairman, stated that "the signing of this operation is doubly pleasing for us. Firstly, because it means an important step forward for the strategic development of Grupo Planeta, whose publishing activity, since its creation, has been exclusively focused on the Spanish-speaking market. From now on, we will have access to another great linguistic market, the Francophone market, making us one of the major European publishers. Secondly, because for Editis, belonging to a group like Planeta, with its clear international vocation, opens up great expectations for development as there is no duplicity between them but there are, in contrast, enormous potential synergies."

Thanks to this transaction, Calyon has enhanced its relationship with Grupo Planeta, the leading Hispanic publisher , with a strong presence in the Spanish and Colombian newspaper sector and part-owner, with the Italian media group DeAgostini, of a strategic stake in Antena 3, the second largest Spanish TV channel. With the integration of Editis, Grupo Planeta will generate revenues of EUR 3.2 billion of which EUR 1.7 billion in publishing.

Wendel is one of the largest listed private equity company in Europe, investing in market leaders such as Bureau Veritas, Legrand, Saint-Gobain, Editis, Materis, Deutsch, Stallergènes, Oranje - Nassau, Stahl. Wendel plays an active role and supports the long term development strategy of its subsidiaries, with the aim of increasing their size and profitability.

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