The Charlois Group, the first merrandier (producer of wood pieces used in barrels) in France, and the Saury Group, traditional barrel-makers, today announce their merger, assisted with financial support from AXA Private Equity, the European diversified private equity house.
Chaired by Sylvain Charlois,the Charlois family has been working as a merrandier for 6 generations, in the Nièvre, the first oak forest in France. Since the acquisition in 2006 of barrel-makers Berthomieu and Ermitage, the firm is now also present in barrel-making and produces 25,000 barrels. Charlois also makes handling palettes and railway sleepers, through the firm Malviche, acquired in 2008.
Managed by Fabrice Gautier, the Saury Group, a traditional barrel-maker, has continued to increase in size following the acquisitions of barrel-maker Martell & Co in Cognac in 2005 along with a merrandier in Normandie. The firm produces 50,000 barrels per year as well as vats used for prestigious wines and brandy.
The new group formed by the merger of the Charlois Group and the Saury Group will be chaired by Sylvain Charlois, who also remains the majority shareholder, and Fabrice Gautier who is appointed Chief Executive. This merger will further improve the quality and traceability of the Group’s products and enables them to extend international environmental certifications to all their brands (PEFC,HACCP, ISO 14000, ISO 9000).
This is the first time a high quality barrel-maker has become completely integrated. The merged group is now autonomous in terms of sourcing its wood. The Group can further build on its pledge to identify the origin of all the wood and to guarantee top quality products.
Both the Charlois Group and the Saury Group brands will retain their separate identities and specificities in terms of production material and sales, 75% of which are realized abroad.
Sylvain Charlois, Chairman and majority shareholder comments: “I am excited about this merger and am confident that the quality and complementary nature of the production sites of both firms in France will allow us to rapidly strengthen our international presence.”
Sylvain Charlois and Fabrice Gautier, Chief Executive added: “This merger of two firms of a similar size, with traditional and complementary cooperage activities would have been much more challenging without the expertise and support of AXA Private Equity.”
AXA Private Equity will help the management team in the implementation of its development strategy. Alexis Lavaillote, Senior Investment Manager, and François Jerphagnon, Managing Director, AXA Private Equity said: “We are delighted to work alongside a strong, ambitious and quality-oriented management team. We are committed to providing long-term support for the newly formed Group. Our experience of working with family owned firms and our international network will be key to implementing the Group’s expansion plans.”
Notes to Editor
A merrandier is the French term for a producer of wood pieces used in barrels.
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Deal/Advisory teams
Buyers
Advisors of Charlois
Legal advisors: Me Jean-Michel Azoulai ; Ernst&Young (Emmanuel Boissard)
Financial advisors: Grant Thornton (Frédéric Zeitoun)
Tax advisors: François Marini; Raymond Villegier
Audit: Atriom (Marc Leclerc) ; Bellot Mullenbach & Associés (Jean-Luc Lagarde)
AXA Private Equity: Alexis Lavaillote, François Jerphagnon, Caroline Pihan
Legal and tax advisors : De Pardieu (Jean-François Pourdieu, Thibaut Caharel, Adrien Cadieux,
Bertrand Araud)
Financial adivsors : PWC (Philip Dykstra, Valérie Truelle, Alexandra Goebel)
Strategic advisor : Goodwill Partners (Olivier de Cointet)
Other investors: BNP Développement (P. Vandenbossche), Unigrains (D. Bosc), Carvest (N.
Ravachol), GSOC (F. de Vaugelas)
Sellers
Legal advisor: Lovells (Pascal de Moidrey)
Legal advisor of the management: SJ Berwin (Jérôme Jouhanneaud)
Senior banks
BNP Paribas (Michel Siciliano, Marjorie Manet)
LCL (Frédéric Baslé)
CIC Lyonnaise de Banque (Thomas Hartweg)
CA Centre Loire (Luc Dumay, Thierry Ottan)
CA Centre France (Karine Magimel)
Fortis (Marc Barouh)
Press Contacts
AXA Private Equity:
HeadLand
Maria Shum
mshum@headlandconsultancy.co.uk
Tel: +44(0)20 7367 5227
Charlois:
Claude Jouot
Tel: +33 3 86 38 16 25