M&A Deal Summary

3i Private Equity and The Carlyle Group Acquire The Mill

On February 4, 2007, private equity firms 3i Private Equity and The Carlyle Group acquired marketing company The Mill

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is 3i Private Equity’s 4th and The Carlyle Group’s 7th transaction in the Marketing sector.
  • This is 3i Private Equity’s 18th and The Carlyle Group’s 10th transaction in France.
Investment Fate
  • The Mill was sold to a consortium of financial buyers in 2011 for 119M GBP.
  • The Mill was sold to a publicly-traded strategic buyer in 2015 for 293M USD.
  • The Mill was sold to a strategic buyer in 2025.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2007-02-04
Target The Mill
Sector Marketing
Buyer(s) 3i Private Equity
The Carlyle Group
Deal Type Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)
Advisor(s) Jamieson Corporate Finance
Jefferies (Financial)
Osborne Clarke
Dickson Minto (Legal)

Target

The Mill

Paris, France
The Mill is a full-service creative content studio for the advertising and brand experience industries.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

3i Private Equity

London, United Kingdom

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1945
PE ASSETS 21.0B GBP
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

3i Private Equity is the private equity arm of 3i Group, a publicly held, global investment firm focused on private equity and infrastructure investing. 3i Private Equity generally targets buyout and growth capital financings and looks for opportunities across Europe, North America, and Asia. The Firm's targeted transaction range is €100 to €500 million. Industries of interest include business services, healthcare, consumer, media, oil/gas & power, technology, and financial services. 3i Group was originally formed in 1945 and is based in London.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 147 of 251
Sector: Marketing M&A 4 of 4
Type: Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI) M&A Deals 86 of 115
Country: France M&A 18 of 31
Year: 2007 M&A 3 of 30
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-02-01 Merivaara

Lahti, Finland

Merivaara develops and delivers furniture for hospitals, healthcare centers, and medical clinics, nursing homes, and home care. Merivaara was founded in 1901 and is based in Lahti, Finland.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-02-19 A-Gas

Bristol, United Kingdom

A-Gas is an independent global specialist blender, re-packer, and distributor of specialty gases and chemicals to the refrigeration and insulation foam industries, primarily focusing on environmentally acceptable replacement products for chlorofluorocarbon (“CFC”) gases and liquids. A-Gas was founded in 1993 and is based in Bristol, United Kingdom.

Sell £32M
Buyer

The Carlyle Group

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1987
PE ASSETS 435.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION
Carlyle's corporate headquarters on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC.
Carlyle's corporate headquarters on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC.

The Carlyle Group is a global investment firm that pursues private equity, credit, and real estate investments worldwide. Carlyle's private equity practice practice pursues buyouts, strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, and growth capital financings. With offices in 19 countries, Carlyle can easily target opportunities throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East/North Africa and Latin America. Broad sectors of interest include aerospace, defense, automotive and transportation, consumer, retail, energy and power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology services, business services, telecommunications and media. The Carlyle Group was formed in 1987 and is based in Washington DC.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 265 of 750
Sector: Marketing M&A 7 of 15
Type: Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI) M&A Deals 106 of 221
Country: France M&A 10 of 27
Year: 2007 M&A 5 of 52
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-01-28 Synagro Technologies

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Synagro Technologies works to turn waste into worth by helping more than 1,000 municipal and industrial water and wastewater facilities in North America move toward safer, cleaner, and more environmentally beneficial practices. As a recycler of organic by-products in North America, the company is trusted because it removes risks while keeping the logistics clean. Synagro Technologies was founded in 1986 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Buy $772M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-02-07 Wastequip

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Wastequip is a North American manufacturer of waste and recycling equipment, with an international network of manufacturing facilities and the most extensive dealer network in the industry. Wastequip's broad range of waste and recycling equipment and systems is used to collect, process and transport recyclables, solid waste, liquid waste and organics. The Company's brands include Wastequip, Toter, Galbreath, Pioneer, Mountain Tarp, Cusco, Go To Parts, and Accurate. Wastequip was founded in1989 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Buy $616M