PrimeStone

Long Term Value Added Investors

About

PrimeStone takes substantial minority stakes in listed companies that it believes
have significant potential for value creation. It then works constructively with
management and stakeholders to create long term enduring value.

PrimeStone was founded by three former partners from The Carlyle Group, who specialised in buyouts and have
invested and worked together across Europe for more than 23 years. They all share a prior experience as
consultants in strategy and operations improvement with The Boston Consulting Group.

Testimonials

“PrimeStone has been one of Volution’s largest shareholders for almost 5 years now. We have been enjoying their focus on the long term performance vs next quarter, on strategy vs tactics as well as their constructive value added engagement with us. I like to use Benoît and his team as sparring partners to test ideas as we did recently on ESG where PrimeStone encouraged and helped us in the definition and implementation of our ESG strategy.” Ronnie GeorgeCEO of Volution Group
“Primestone Capital were unknown to me when they first made their investment in SMS plc but they were to become not just an investor, but a key contributor to the direction of the company. Their contribution provided a voice that placed accountability on the Board. That proved invaluable with the recent acquisition by KKR where they placed principle before gain to ensure that the value realised was benchmarked for all shareholders benefit. A valuable addition to our shareholder register.” Steve Timoney Founder Smart Metering Systems PLC
“When I took over as CEO of Spirent, our agenda for turning around the company was quite ambitious. We had to invest heavily in R&D and client coverage while restoring the profitability of the company. We were happy to have PrimeStone as long term shareholder during that difficult journey. Although Benoit and I we were not always in agreement on all matters, our discussions were always value adding and constructive. PrimeStone’s demanding support helped us eventually exceed our objectives.” Eric HutchinsonFormer CEO Spirent Communications
“As CEO you need shareholders and board members who understand your business really well, have a long-term horizon and can be supportive partners during good as well as bad times. This is precisely what the team were to me. We worked very closely on all aspects of the business and together we rejuvenated AZ for long-term growth and led a successful IPO.” Geoff WildFormer CEO of AZ Electronic Materials, CEO of Atotech
“When we changed shareholders, I chose to work with Franck and his team. With him as Chairman of our board we managed to accelerate our growth and international development. His team were true partners and collaborating with them was a real pleasure. Our dialogue was made easy thanks to their understanding of our business, the proximity and trust we had established as well as their focus on our key long-term value creation levers.” Georges SampeurFormer CEO of B&B Hotels
“The team were first-class partners for us at Zodiac. The strategic vision they had for the business and industry consolidation was spot on and we continue to deliver on it years later. On the board, they were demanding, constructive, transparent and supportive. They were also analytical and very close to our business while remaining focused on what really mattered. I truly enjoyed our cooperation.” Bruce BrooksFormer CEO of Zodiac Pool Systems, CEO of Fluidra
“Franck led the acquisition of Waterpik and during our 8-year partnership I have found him and his team to be highly supportive, strategic, analytical and value-added. Steady-minded and patient during the initial turnaround, they proved to be equally engaged and focused on long-term value creation during our innovation-driven growth phase.” Richard BissonFormer CEO of Waterpik
““After a first successful buyout focused on low hanging fruits, we needed a value-added partner able to accompany us in the next phase of value creation. Benoît and his team brought us their long PE experience coupled with deep knowledge of the Telecom and Tech industries. They helped us as major shareholder transforming Sagemcom radically, identifying and selling non-core businesses in order to accelerate investments in our most promising activities.” Patrick SevianCEO of Sagemcom
“Shortly after I joined UBM as CEO, PrimeStone became one of our major shareholders. I was struck by the investment they made to properly understand both the industries in which we operated and the strengths of our positions in those industries, both relatively and absolutely. Consequently they became strong supporters of our strategy and shared our vision of building a pure play events business through the disposal of non-core assets, the quality focused rationalisation of our portfolio of events and sustained investment in operational excellence. They recognised the opportunity to drive industry consolidation and were strong supporters of our M&A strategy. Whenever we discussed the business their input, whether on strategy, management incentives, operations or the industry more generally was always well reasoned and articulated, thought provoking and if appropriate, constructively challenging. I always found them helpful and supportive. We shared a good relationship until the business was acquired by Informa.” Tim CobboldFormer CEO of UBM
"As an investor in Tennant Company and during my interactions as CEO, I have found Franck, and the team from Primestone, to be very engaged, knowledgeable and well-informed about our industry and the market dynamics. They come to our calls well prepared with appropriately insightful, thought-provoking, and strategic questions that enable constructive dialogue." Dave HumlPresident & CEO, Tennant Company
“Following their very extensive evaluation of our business and industry Primestone very quickly became the largest shareholder in Johnson Service Group Plc. As CEO I enjoyed a valued relationship with Franck and the team who were always very constructive and supportive of our growth strategy and vision for the business. Whilst focused on creating shareholder value Primestone were pleasantly and positively demanding but always in friendly and collaborative manner. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship and the experience whilst of course delivering so very impressive results.” Chris SanderFormer CEO of Johnson Service Group

Strategy

PrimeStone primarily invests in a limited number of European companies
that exhibit four characteristics:

1 They have a high-quality core business that can be expanded and strengthened
2 They are trading at a significant discount to their potential value
3 This discount can be reduced overtime by working on multiple levers
4 PrimeStone believes their management and board to be open-minded and willing to engage in a constructive dialogue to create long-term value

Approach

PrimeStone applies a private equity approach to investing, leveraging its founders’ combined 65+ years of investment experience, board participation and management

In-Depth Research PrimeStone conducts in-depth private equity-like proprietary research to assess industries’ attractiveness and businesses’ competitive advantage. It then identifies ways to create value typically through strategic allocation of capital and talent, ESG best practices, operational improvement or balance sheet optimisation.
Value Discipline PrimeStone’s approach to valuation focuses on sustainable cash flow generation and a deep understanding of the gap between the price of a security and its intrinsic value.
Active Engagement PrimeStone believes in the power of a constructive relationship between shareholders and management. The team brings a long experience of working with company executives and boards to significantly improve businesses over many economic cycles.
Long Term Horizon PrimeStone’s objective is to serve as anchor shareholder and as partner to management teams, which requires a longer term perspective and commitment than most public shareholders.

ESG

PrimeStone is committed to the highest standards of business practices and ethics, and the consideration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues is a central pillar of the way it evaluates potential investments.

PrimeStone believes that in the long term, companies that integrate sound ESG principles within their operations create greater shareholder value, as they:

Use fewer resources & less capital
Manage risk better
Attract higher quality talent
Inspire customer and shareholder loyalty and trust

PrimeStone discusses ESG practices with management teams and boards and, where necessary, makes recommendations to ensure appropriate practices are implemented.

PrimeStone Capital LLP is a carbon neutral business. A copy of our ESG policy is available on request.

PrimeStone supports the work of CDP https://www.cdp.net/en.

Founders

Benoît Colas Benoît Colas was a former principal with The Boston Consulting Group in Paris, Munich and Chicago (9 years) before joining Carlyle in 1999 where he became Global Partner and Member of Carlyle Europe Investment Committee. He was notably in charge of covering Telecoms and Building Materials across Europe as well as French speaking countries (15 years). Benoît holds an MS from Ecole des Mines de Paris. He has held many company board seats including Materis, Bredbandsbeloget, Terreal, Casema, Comhem/UPC Sweden, Numericable, Completel, Sagemcom and Sermeta.

Franck Falézan Franck Falézan was a former senior consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in Paris and London (3 years) before joining Carlyle in 1998 where he became Global Partner and Member of Carlyle Europe Investment Committee. He was notably in charge of covering Media, Healthcare and Packaging across Europe as well as French speaking countries (16 years). Franck holds an MS with concentration in Maths from Ecole Polytechnique and an MBA from Harvard Business School where he graduated with distinctions. He has held many company board seats including Le Figaro, Otor (PLC), Aprovia, Medimedia, Waterpik, Zodiac Marine and Pool, B&B Hotels and AZ Electronic Materials (PLC).

Jean-Pierre Millet Jean-Pierre Millet was a principal with the Boston Consulting Group in Paris and Milan (6 years) before becoming the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Artal Europe, a €700m revenue food group, which he built through 27 acquisitions in 12 different countries (10 years). He founded and led Carlyle Europe in 1997 and became Global Partner and a Member of the firm’s first Management Committee (16 years). Jean-Pierre holds a BA from ISG and an MBA from Kellogg Northwestern University where he graduated with distinctions.

Testimonials

“PrimeStone has been one of Volution’s largest shareholders for almost 5 years now. We have been enjoying their focus on the long term performance vs next quarter, on strategy vs tactics as well as their constructive value added engagement with us. I like to use Benoît and his team as sparring partners to test ideas as we did recently on ESG where PrimeStone encouraged and helped us in the definition and implementation of our ESG strategy.” Ronnie GeorgeCEO of Volution Group
“Primestone Capital were unknown to me when they first made their investment in SMS plc but they were to become not just an investor, but a key contributor to the direction of the company. Their contribution provided a voice that placed accountability on the Board. That proved invaluable with the recent acquisition by KKR where they placed principle before gain to ensure that the value realised was benchmarked for all shareholders benefit. A valuable addition to our shareholder register.” Steve Timoney Founder Smart Metering Systems PLC
“When I took over as CEO of Spirent, our agenda for turning around the company was quite ambitious. We had to invest heavily in R&D and client coverage while restoring the profitability of the company. We were happy to have PrimeStone as long term shareholder during that difficult journey. Although Benoit and I we were not always in agreement on all matters, our discussions were always value adding and constructive. PrimeStone’s demanding support helped us eventually exceed our objectives.” Eric HutchinsonFormer CEO Spirent Communications
“As CEO you need shareholders and board members who understand your business really well, have a long-term horizon and can be supportive partners during good as well as bad times. This is precisely what the team were to me. We worked very closely on all aspects of the business and together we rejuvenated AZ for long-term growth and led a successful IPO.” Geoff WildFormer CEO of AZ Electronic Materials, CEO of Atotech
“When we changed shareholders, I chose to work with Franck and his team. With him as Chairman of our board we managed to accelerate our growth and international development. His team were true partners and collaborating with them was a real pleasure. Our dialogue was made easy thanks to their understanding of our business, the proximity and trust we had established as well as their focus on our key long-term value creation levers.” Georges SampeurFormer CEO of B&B Hotels
“The team were first-class partners for us at Zodiac. The strategic vision they had for the business and industry consolidation was spot on and we continue to deliver on it years later. On the board, they were demanding, constructive, transparent and supportive. They were also analytical and very close to our business while remaining focused on what really mattered. I truly enjoyed our cooperation.” Bruce BrooksFormer CEO of Zodiac Pool Systems, CEO of Fluidra
“Franck led the acquisition of Waterpik and during our 8-year partnership I have found him and his team to be highly supportive, strategic, analytical and value-added. Steady-minded and patient during the initial turnaround, they proved to be equally engaged and focused on long-term value creation during our innovation-driven growth phase.” Richard BissonFormer CEO of Waterpik
““After a first successful buyout focused on low hanging fruits, we needed a value-added partner able to accompany us in the next phase of value creation. Benoît and his team brought us their long PE experience coupled with deep knowledge of the Telecom and Tech industries. They helped us as major shareholder transforming Sagemcom radically, identifying and selling non-core businesses in order to accelerate investments in our most promising activities.” Patrick SevianCEO of Sagemcom
“Shortly after I joined UBM as CEO, PrimeStone became one of our major shareholders. I was struck by the investment they made to properly understand both the industries in which we operated and the strengths of our positions in those industries, both relatively and absolutely. Consequently they became strong supporters of our strategy and shared our vision of building a pure play events business through the disposal of non-core assets, the quality focused rationalisation of our portfolio of events and sustained investment in operational excellence. They recognised the opportunity to drive industry consolidation and were strong supporters of our M&A strategy. Whenever we discussed the business their input, whether on strategy, management incentives, operations or the industry more generally was always well reasoned and articulated, thought provoking and if appropriate, constructively challenging. I always found them helpful and supportive. We shared a good relationship until the business was acquired by Informa.” Tim CobboldFormer CEO of UBM
"As an investor in Tennant Company and during my interactions as CEO, I have found Franck, and the team from Primestone, to be very engaged, knowledgeable and well-informed about our industry and the market dynamics. They come to our calls well prepared with appropriately insightful, thought-provoking, and strategic questions that enable constructive dialogue." Dave HumlPresident & CEO, Tennant Company
“Following their very extensive evaluation of our business and industry Primestone very quickly became the largest shareholder in Johnson Service Group Plc. As CEO I enjoyed a valued relationship with Franck and the team who were always very constructive and supportive of our growth strategy and vision for the business. Whilst focused on creating shareholder value Primestone were pleasantly and positively demanding but always in friendly and collaborative manner. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship and the experience whilst of course delivering so very impressive results.” Chris SanderFormer CEO of Johnson Service Group