Argos Soditic - The Kermel proposal

In April 2002 Guy Semmens, a partner in Argos Soditic, has to decide whether to take the lead in the MBO of Kermel, a niche player in the specialty fiber market. This case invites participants to consider an MBO from the perspective of the private equity investor and answer the following questions: what is the fair value of Kermel, how to structure the deal to incentivize management while generating adequate returns, what would be the exit strategy…? This case is interrelated with two other cases that focus on the other actors of the deal: Venkatesh Tulluri, who took the decision to engineer the MBO and would become Kermel’s CEO, and TCFG, the M&A advisor of Tulluri and Kermel’s management team.