Orchestra Prémaman

Crédit Mutuel Equity subscribed a €30 million issue of bond redeemable with shares issued by Yeled Invest, the holding company of the Mestre and Gotlib families. Yeled Invest controls Orchestra Prémaman, a French listed company that is a leading retailer of children's clothes and baby equipment. The bonds will be redeemed in existing Orchestra Prémaman shares and will give Crédit Mutuel Equity a 12% stake in the company before the pending merger with Destination Maternity.

Orchestra Prémaman generated revenue of €560 million in 2015. It has 2,832 employees and a network of 651 retail outlets selling childrenswear and baby hard goods covering 32 countries, with half of its stores in France. The group is based in Montpellier and was founded in 1995. Today, it sells 80 million items of clothing per year. It offers distinctive colorful collectionsat competitive prices, and has an attractive and effective customer loyalty programme. Almost 90% of its revenue comes from its 1.8 million Club Orchestra cardholders. In the last few years, Orchestra has started to transform its retail network by opening megastores in retail parks. These stores sell a comprehensive range of products for children - i.e. clothing and baby products alongside maternity apparel.

For the Yeled Invest holding company, the purpose of the bond issue was to refinance existing debt. For Crédit Mutuel Equity (formerly CM-CIC Investissement), the issue is an opportunity to invest in a leading retailer of children's clothing and baby products, whose business is growing very rapidly. Orchestra has ambitious growth plans, aiming to increase sales to €1 billion by 2019, which equates to average annual growth rate of 16% in the next four years.

Orchestra is currently merging with US company Destination Maternity, a specialist retailer of maternity wear. Once completed, the transaction will give rise to a global giant with revenue of over $1.1 billion.

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