Qualis news
July 2008 - increased stake in IEC
Thanks to the acquisition of shares from former shareholders of recently bought IEC’s subsidiaries, and to the capital increase of IEC, the economic percentage Qualis hodls in IEC is now 40%.
May 2008 - increased stake in Exalead
Via Qual Tech, its subsidiary, Qualis has completed a €5m capital increase of Exalead. Qual Tech has also bought existing shares so that Qual Tech holds now 83% of Exalead.
July 2007 - increased stake in Akerys
At the same time as Akerys completed of a €300m high yield floating-rate note, Qualis reinforced its position up to 75%.
December 2006 - capital increase of Exalead
Qualis has completed a capital increase of Exalead. 12Meuros have been subscribed solely by Qual Tech, a Qualis subsidiary, which now owns 59% of Exalead. These funds will be used by Exalead to accelerate its development on its two business segments: enterprise software and web seach engine.
July 2006 - Qualis takes control of Akerys
In early July 2006, Qualis increased its stake in Akerys from 28.24% to 63.70%. As when Qualis bought its initial stake in January 2004, this investment took place as part of an LBO.
January-March 2006 - disposal of minority stake in NewSports
In January and March 2006, Qualis sold its minority stake in NewSports, a producer of new media (internet and mobile phone) content for the men’s market. NewSports produces the sports.fr, boursier.com, sport4fun.com and football.fr websites. NewSports has been listed on the Alternext market since 23 January 2006. Qualis had supported the company’s development since 2000.
June 2005 - increased stake in Center.com
In June 2005, Qualis increased its stake in Center.com to 49% by acquiring the shares of third parties along with newly issued shares. The $2 million capital increase was intended to help Center.com finance its diversification businesses (television, magazines etc.)
June - July 2005 - increased stake in Exalead
In June 2005, Qualis increased its stake in Exalead by acquiring the shares of third parties along with newly issued shares. Qualis now owns a 51% interest in Exalead. The €5 million capital increase will enable the company to step up its growth through product development, recruitment of sales staff, communication and the creation of new subsidiaries.
July - August 2005 - increased stake in MASA
Qualis has been a shareholder in Mathématiques Appliquées SA (MASA) since 1999, and has supported its development through current account loans. In July 2005, when MASA carried out a capital increase, Qualis converted almost all of these loans into equity, giving it control of the company.
January 2005 - disposal of CTN, SGCC and ECS
Qualis has sold its CTN and SGCC operations to holding companies controlled by funds managed by AtriA
- The SGCC group was set up in 1976. It sells a comprehensive range of hollow glass control systems intended for factories producing glass packaging (mainly bottles and pots). Customers include major glass companies like Saint Gobain, Rexam and BSN Glasspack. SGCC has sales of around €32 million and employs 71 staff. It is the joint leader of its global market, and has a share of more than 50% in certain segments. Qualis acquired SGCC from Saint Gobain via an LBO in 1999. At the time, SGCC specialised in mechanical control machinery, and Qualis supported its transformation by giving it expertise in optical control (alphacam, deltacam) along with a network of subsidiaries, offices and agents, which allowed it to develop internationally.
- CTN was set up in 1975 and employs around 100 staff. It is the leading French supplier of fittings (floor, wall and ceiling coverings) for stands used in trade fairs and other events. CTN was acquired by Mr Coste and Mr Galbert in 1993 and was transferred to Qualis when it was created in 1996. Qualis’ managers supported CTN’s expansion outside France (UK, Belgium and Spain) and its diversification through the 2000 acquisition of Bâches de France. This latter company specialises in making and distributing tarpaulin covers for protection applications (scaffolding etc.) and information purposes (store signage, printed advertising media etc.).
Qualis sold ECS
- Qualis has also sold its 80.77% interest in ECS, based on a price per share of €34.5, giving a total disposal price of €70.17m. European Cargo Services is the world’s leading freight sales representative for airlines, offering comprehensive outsourced management of this function. The company operates in 16 European countries as well as in America and Asia. It generated sales of €186.0 million in 2003 and operating profit of €10.3 million. ECS was listed on Euronext Paris’ Nouveau Marché between 1998 and January 2005. Qualis acquired ECS in late 1999. It has supported its development by giving it financial resources enabling it to become a world leader. Sales rose from €63.8 million in 1999 to €186.0 million in 2003, operating profit from €1.4 million to €10.3 million and the number of agencies from 24 to more than 50.