BDA advises Rexel on divestment of Asian luxury goods business, HCL Asia

Business Development Asia LLC (“BDA”) has advised Rexel on the sale of HCL Asia, one of the three activities of its Agencies Consumers Electronics (“ACE”) division, to the DKSH Group, a privately held Swiss company and the leading Market Expansion Services provider with a focus on Asia.

HCL Asia, headquartered in Hong Kong, distributes luxury products such as watches, skin care products and other fashion-related products in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and the Pacific islands through a network of 54 sales outlets as a wholesaler, retailer, and duty-free agent, on behalf of well-known brands such as Bally, Rolex and others.

This business was non-core for Rexel, a global leader in the distribution of electrical supplies, and generated sales of €42 million in 2009 (out of total Group sales of €11.3 billion).

BDA Deal Team – London
Andrew Huntley, Senior Managing Director, London, ahuntley@bdallc.com
Christophe Walewski, Associate, London, cwalewski@bdallc.com

BDA Deal Team – Hong Kong
Paul DiGiacomo, Managing Director, Hong Kong, pdigiacomo@bdallc.com
Jim Lau, Director, Hong Kong, jlau@bdallc.com
Jess Zhou, Analyst, Hong Kong, jzhou@bdallc.com

About Rexel
Rexel, a global leader in the distribution of electrical supplies, serves three main end markets: industrial, commercial and residential. The Group operates in 34 countries, with a network of some 2,300 branches, and employs 29,000 people. Rexel’s sales were €11.3 billion in 2009. Its majority shareholders are an investor group led by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Eurazeo and BAML Capital Partners. Rexel is listed on the Eurolist market of Euronext Paris.

About BDA
Business Development Asia LLC was founded in 1996. BDA assists multinational corporate and financial sector clients to identify and execute acquisitions, divestments, JVs, restructuring and to raise capital, in Asia and internationally. The company is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Bahrain, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo. BDA employs 50 full-time professional staff across its eight offices, supplemented by a team of senior advisors around the world. BDA’s clients include Areva, Arkema, AXA Private Equity, Celestica, Clariant, Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Ecolab, Federal-Mogul, Global Power Equipment Group, Hercules, Molex, Nalco, Reuters, Ryder, Seera, SigmaKalon, Sun Chemical and Tredegar. Further information on BDA is available at www.bdapartners.com.

For more information regarding this transaction, please contact Andrew Huntley on (44) 20 7182 4514 or Paul DiGiacomo in Hong Kong on (852) 2537 9565.