BC Partners gives loan mandate to 4 banks

BC Partners, the London-based private equity firm, hired four banks to finance its purchase of a majority stake in cleaning-product maker Spotless Group.

The senior debt package will be underwritten by Bank of Ireland, HSBC Holdings Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and Societe Generale SA, according to a statement from the lenders.

BC Partners said yesterday it acquired Spotless from Axa Private Equity, without disclosing financial terms. The deal values the company at ¤600 million ($825 million), according to a newspaper report.

Private equity firms are taking advantage of banks' renewed lending to purchase companies after the credit crisis stymied transactions for almost three years. Deals dropped 71 per cent to $84.6 billion last year compared with 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Axa Private Equity, the leveraged buyout unit of Paris- based insurer AXA SA, tried to sell its stake in Spotless Group for about ¤700 million in 2008, three people involved in the talks said at the time.

BC Partners will own 66 per cent of Spotless, whose brands include Eparcyl in France, Vim in the UK and Punch in Ireland. The firm is also bidding for Nordic private health care provider Carema & Mehilaeinen, which is being sold by London-based private equity firm 3I Group Plc, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.