Bridgepoint Buys La Gardenia

European private equity fund Bridgepoint acquired perfumery chain La Gardenia from funds L Capital, the private equity arm of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and Ergon Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

La Gardenia, which has 161 stores and 822 employees, is positioned in the high-end segment of the market. The retailer posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about $23.7 million at average exchange, and sales of $149 million, in 2010.

Bridgepoint said La Gardenia doubled its market share in the 2006 to 2011 period, on a like-for-like basis and through the opening of new stores. Italy’s perfumery business ranks third in Europe in terms of sales at nearly $13 billion.

Bridgepoint is not new to the sector as one of its funds already controls Italy’s leading Limoni perfumery chain. It also developed the Nocibé perfumery chain in France from 2002 to 2005.

Bridgepoint first established operations in France in 1991 and has raised 11 billion euros, or $15.5 billion, of capital to date. In addition to La Gardenia, its investments in 2011 include the acquisition of French residential property management services business Foncia, and German specialty chemicals company CABB, among others.