Estin & Co Advise Naxicap Acquisition of FIK Group from Perceva

According to market sources, Luxembourg-based Aquasourça provided 15% of the equity injected into FIK Group. Naxicap’s funds contributed the remaining 85%, excluding a fraction that was supplied by the company’s management.

Formed of helmet producer Shark and motorbike accessories vendor Trophy, FIK Group intends to use the capital to strengthen its market position via an organic and external growth strategy.

This is Naxicap’s second investment in Shark, having first backed the business’s plans to set up a second manufacturing plant in in Portugal in the early 2000s.

Having secured a 15% stake in Shark, Naxicap divested its interest in June 2005 alongside Crédit du Nord to Atria Capital Partenaires, which led the buyout and secured an 80% stake in the helmet manufacturer, according to unquote” data.

After seven years, Atria exited its stake via a replacement capital transaction to Perceva in March 2011. The deal, understood to value the company at around €25-50m, saw the turnaround firm invest via its €150m France Special Situations Fund I and become Shark’s sole shareholder.

In November 2011, Shark was the recipient of more than €5m from Perceva for the bolt-on acquisition of motorcycle equipment business Trophy. The purchase followed months of negotiations between the firm and Trophy’s management team, which were brought to an end when the business filed for bankruptcy in October 2011 and Shark took over all of its assets via a newco.