JPMorgan Private Equity reports good progress on restructuring

JPMorgan Private Equity has announced interim results covering the six months ended 31 December 2014. Its net asset value rose by 7 cents over the period or 6.4% and its share price rose by 5.5%.

JPMorgan Private Equity has made good progress on its plan to cut debt and invest $150m in new investments. It has been reducing its exposure to, listed, Deutsche Annington Immobilien – its largest holding. That company’s share price has been strong, rising by 31% over the period and this has been a big boost to the NAV. At 31 December 2014 they were sitting on a return on investment in this company of 3.2x and its share price is up a further 11.9% since. The proceeds of these sales and distributions from other investment in the portfolio have allowed them to cut gearing (including ZDPs) to 25%.

Over the period JPMorgan Private Equity made four secondary investments – $16m in Celerion, a US based clinical research organisation providing support to the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, $18.4m in Mr Bult’s, the largest long-haul, municipal waste transfer business in the US, $24.2m in You & Home SAS, a business holding three French consumer brands (Maison Verte – ‘environmentally aware’ laundry care, O’Cédar – wood care, and Baranne – shoe care) spun out of Reckitt Benckiser and $6.6m in Pilosio s.p.a., a scaffolding and formwork company based in Italy but operating worldwide.

Since the end of the period they have spent a further $6m on a US based software business.

JPEL : JPMorgan Private Equity reports good progress on restructuring