Siparex kickstarts regional fund with Labojal BIMBO

The deal will see Jacques Longère, CEO at Labojal since 1998, replaced by new executive Eric Goudou. Previously a chief financial officer at Societe Generale, Goudou invested alongside a number of Labojal managers including Longère himself, who remained as shareholder.

The deal is the first to be financed by Rhône-Alpes Entrepreneurs 4, the fourth in a series of SME-focused funds set up by Siparex in the Rhône-Alpes region. Having raised €46m to date, the vehicle will be used to write equity tickets of up to €2.5m for around 25 SMEs with headquarters in the area.

The BIMBO is the latest deal to be announced by Siparex in a very active start to 2016. On the exit side, the French investor sold French ironmongery distributor Legallais to Gimv and offloaded a 30% stake in electronic component manufacturer Silfox to SME investor Isatis Capital.

Over the past few weeks, Siparex has also been busy deploying capital, particularly on the build-up front. In late January, the firm invested €3.6m from two funds to back the purchase of Bati Etanche by portfolio company TEP Etanchéité, followed by a €12m injection alongside Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners to finance the bolt-on of Havas Voyage by tour operator Marietton.

Most recently, the firm backed an MBO for curtain designer Déchelette-Malleval.

Company
Founded in 1974, Labojal produces detergents, soaps and other hygiene goods. Headquartered in Thizy-les-Bourg, near Lyon, the business targets distributors and wholesalers via its four dedicated brands Standing, Initiale, Industrie and EcoLabel. In 2015, the company reported €7m in turnover.

People
Siparex – Cyril Fromager (chairperson).
Labojal – Eric Goudou (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Althéo , Martine Story (Corporate finance); EY, Pierre Bonnafous (Legal, tax); Teorem, Severine Loubaresse (Financial due diligence).
Vendor – GVGM, Philippe Chollet (Financial due diligence, legal).

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• Topics
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• France
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