Cleary Gottlieb represented long-standing client D’Ieteren Group SA/NV (D’Ieteren) as the majority shareholder of Belron Group S.A. (Belron) in the sale by Belron’s second-largest shareholder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) of a minority stake of 16.8% in Belron for a consideration that values Belron at an enterprise value of €21 billion.
The minority stake will be acquired by Hellman & Friedman (H&F), funds and accounts managed by BlackRock Private Equity Partners (BlackRock), and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC. D’Ieteren will continue to hold 50.01% of Belron’s fully diluted share capital.
Cleary represented D’Ieteren in the original sale of a 40% interest in Belron to CD&R in 2018 as well as its acquisition in 2020 of (non-voting) preference shares from CD&R. The 2018 transaction valued Belron at €3 billion. Cleary also represented D’Ieteren in other transactions, including its acquisition of Moleskine.
The transaction signed on July 12, 2021, and closed on December 17, 2021.
Belron, headquartered in Luxembourg, is the worldwide leader in vehicle glass repair and replacement and operates in 40 countries, through wholly owned businesses and franchises, with market leading brands—including Carglass, Safelite, and Autoglass. In addition, Belron manages vehicle glass and other insurance claims on behalf of insurance customers. Sales and adjusted operating result reached respectively €3.9 billion and €583.1 million in FY20.
D’Ieteren is a Euronext Brussels listed group that currently operates across four businesses: D’Ieteren Auto, that distributes Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Škoda, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Porsche and Yamaha vehicles in Belgium; Moleskine, the maker of iconic notebooks and related branded products; D’Ieteren Immo, which groups together the Belgian real estate interests of D’Ieteren Group; and Belron.
For more information, please see the press release here.