Babilou, a French nursery operator, is to be acquired by infrastructure fund Antin. An auction that kicked off at the beginning of the year had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to sources.

In spite of the portable financing provided by direct lender ICG with a unitranche facility of €340 million, Antin has opted for a term loan B syndication leveraged at 5.25x, with BNP Paribas and J.P. Morgan as underwriters, according to sources.

Babilou was marketed off an EBITDA of about €80 million, it was reported, but the leverage is calculated on higher run-rate EBITDA, one of the sources said.

In April 2017, private equity fund TA Associates bought a stake in the company. Société Générale and Raise are also shareholders of the Babilou Group, and the company remains majority-owned by the founding Carle family, according to TA Associates.

Founded in Paris in 2003 by Rodolphe and Edouard Carle, Babilou serves children under the age of 3. It primarily runs company-owned and -operated nurseries serving corporate clients and municipalities. It also manages municipally owned public facilities. Babilou also operates 1001 Crèches, an international booking platform through which individuals and businesses can secure daycare spots at Babilou nurseries or partner nurseries. In addition, the company recently launched "Mes Solutions Family," a comprehensive offering that provides tutoring for students as well as home care and other services for seniors. Babilou operates more than 400 nurseries that can accommodate close to 20,000 children in France, Germany, Belgium, Dubai and Switzerland. The 1001 Crèches network offers access to more than 1,400 daycare centers.

Article amended at 1:06 p.m. ET on Sept. 17, 2020, to reflect that BNPP and JP Morgan were both underwriters on the Babilou deal.