Perceva bids to turn around French mattress maker Cauval

Alice Tchernookova
24 May 2016

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Paris-based independent investment firm Perceva has acquired French mattress and sofa maker Groupe Cauval in an effort to turn around the struggling business.

The decision was made by the Meaux Court of Commerce, which in March had put the Cival factory – one of the group's seven production sites – into compulsory liquidation due to serious financial difficulties and a stunted production pace. The group's turnover for 2015 was down to €214m in 2015 – €24m less than the previous year.

Perceva beat competing bids from investment firm Verdoso, Portuguese industrial Aquinos – which had acquired 51% of the group in 2015 for €25m – and South African retail holding company Steinhoff, according to media reports.

Following the deal, Perceva will become Cauval's sole shareholder.

In order to achieve a successful redevelopment of the group, the GP has secured financial resources of up to €70m to support the business, of which €40m is reportedly equity that will be deployed with the aim of restarting production. Of that, €15m has already been invested to buy raw material ahead of the production growth expected between May and July, according to local press reports.

The transaction will see 1,445 jobs saved of 1,660 in France, reducing the job loss to 215 (the group had already reduced its workforce by half since 2008), according to Perceva. Cauval's seven French production sites will also be maintained.

Perceva's bid was backed by the company's staff and management team, the GP claimed in a statement. The new management board will include executives joining from subsidiary companies, including François Duparc, who will join as president, Alain Boussage, who has been appointed director of sales and marketing, and Philippe Lang, who joins as new managing director of industry.

The aim for Cauval under the new owners is to increase production and sales levels, aiming at a 20% rise within the next three to four years.

Company
Cauval manufactures and markets mattresses. Its products are offered under the brand name Simmons and Steiner Paris, Dunlopillo and Treca. Its headquarters are based in Torcy in north-central France.

Cauval was founded in 2005 and has been under restructuring since 2008. The group most recently posted turnover of around €290m. It employs 2,200 people across production sites in France and affiliates in the UK, Germany, Poland and Tunisia.

People
Perceva – Jean-Louis Grevet (president, founder).