McWin acquires majority stake in Big Mamma
The Big Mamma restaurant group welcomes a British fund as part of a Leverage Buy Out (LBO) that values the group at 270 million euros. Find out more about this buy-out in this article.
Big Mamma, the success story of a food empire
Founded in 2015 by Tigrane Seydoux and Victor Lugger, both HEC graduates, Big Mamma is a group of Italian restaurants. The group now has 23 restaurants, 11 in France including 7 in Paris, and 12 spread between Germany, England, Spain and Monaco. But how did a simple pizzeria project become one of the capital's biggest business groups?
It all starts with the creation of East Mamma in 2015, an Italian restaurant in Paris where the queues begin. The two founders organize a waiting area in front of their restaurant, which is an excellent marketing argument on social networks. Indeed, it's the customers who start promoting the store with #NoFilter on Instagram. Since then, the two entrepreneurs have made a string of openings, and have even decided to push the concept to the limit by offering a €5 margarita "just like in Naples" at their restaurant in the Bourse district, Pizzeria Popolare! Lastly, each restaurant has its own name, highlighting a particular aspect of Italian cuisine in its own decor.
Today, the company is planning to open soon in Italy (Milan) and then in the United States!
McWin values Big Mamma at €270 million
Rothschild & Co and Lazard are currently organizing the sale of Big Mamma restaurants to the British fund McWin Capital Partners as part of a Leverage Buy Out (LBO) that values the group at €270 million. Rothschild & Co advised Big Mamma while Lazard accompanied McWin in this buy-out.
What is a Leverage Buy Out (LBO)?
The principle behind an LBO, or Leverage Buy Out, is to buy a company ("target") through a significant recourse to debt. It's a leveraged operation, involving the creation of a parent company called a holding company, whose mission is to take on debt to buy out the target company.
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As part of this buy-out, Tigrane Seydoux and Victor Lugger, the two founders of the Italian restaurant chain, remain minority shareholders. Indeed, a dozen or so individual investors, including Xavier Niel, Stéphane Courbit, Frédéric Biousse and Elie Kouby, who took part in previous rounds, are selling their stakes. According to Capital Finance, the transaction, which includes a debt component, values the group at €270 million.
Big Mamma wants to expand internationally
This is a further step in the growth of Big Mamma, which aims to internationalize its activities, particularly in Italy and the United States, and become the benchmark for affordable Italian luxury dining worldwide.
For McWin, the aim is to invest in assets perfectly aligned with its strategy. Specializing in the food service and food technology sectors, this fund has already allocated €1 billion to investments in 14 chains over the past two years.
Find out more about McWin. The McWin fund specializes in the food service and food technology sector. Its portfolio includes the l'Osteria and Burger King chains in Germany, as well as the White Rabbit business incubation platform. The arrival of the London-based management company coincides with the French group's international expansion ambitions, launched in 2019 with the opening of the Gloria restaurant in London.
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