Siparex, MBO Partenaires back Rondot, IS Engineering merger

Alice Tchernookova
21 July 2016

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Siparex and MBO Partenaires have backed the merger of Groupe Rondot with competitor IS Engineering, resulting in the creation of Rise Group.

Crédit Agricole Régions Investissement, which has been supporting the group since 2012, re-invested alongside Siparex and MBO in the newco, while previous investor Sofimac Partners has fully exited the group.

Crédit Agricole Régions Investissement's participation represented around 10% of the overall ticket, a source close to the matter said.

Senior debt was jointly provided by Crédit Agricole Centre-Est, CM-CIC and LCL.

Management from both Rondot and IS Engineering have invested in the newco, and are majority shareholders ahead of the three GPs.

Carlo Mobayed, CEO and sole owner of IS Engineering – a company with 25 years' experience in the glasswork industry – will head the newly formed company. He will partner with some of Rondot's main executives, who are also investing in the group as part of the deal. Louis Rondot, Groupe Rondot's CEO, transferred his shares into the newco and will become head of the supervisory board, joined by all new investors.

Upon completion of the transaction, the newly formed Rise Group will post €32m in revenues (€30m from Groupe Rondot and €2m from IS Engineering), 70% of which is generated internationally. The firm emplys 130 staff, 123 of whom from Rondot.

Mobayed plans to keep expanding the company's reach worldwide, with a particular interest in the Iberian Peninsula and Brazil, and eventually China. He also intends to further develop the group's product offering.

The new GPs told unquote" the launch of six new products was currently underway, and that the aim would eventually be to reach a €50m turnover within the next three to five years, by way of organic growth and by bolting on smaller concurrent companies in the sector.

Previous funding
In 2012, Groupe Rondot benefited from a co-investment made by Calixte (the growth capital investment arm of Crédit Agricole Centre-Est, itself a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Régions Investissement) and Sofimac Partners. The round of funding was completed by a €500,000 contribution from BPI France.

The capital enabled Rondot to grow organically and make several international acquisitions.

Company
Rondot designs, manufactures and distributes mechanical and electronic engineering products for the glass containers industry. It offers services such as coating equipment, shear spray systems and machine lubrication systems. The company also provides mould polishing machines, grinding machines and mould gauging machines.

In addition, it supplies chemical products for the textile and cosmetic industries. The group was founded in 1936 and has been directed by Louis Rondot since 1971. It was incorporated in its current form in 1986.

The group has four production sites located in France and the UK and operates via nine subsidiaries worldwide (in Germany, Italy, the US, the UK, Spain and Thailand). It is headquartered in Champagne au Mont d'Or, near Lyon.

People
Siparex – Jérôme Burtin, Henri Dumas-Marze (partners).
MBO Partenaires – Edouard Malandrin (associate); Médéric Gaillard (senior associate).
Crédit Agricole Régions Investissement – Stéphane Frénéat (investment director).

Advisers
Vendor – Delsol Avocats, Jean-Philippe Delsol, Emmanuel Kaeppelin, Mayeul Brac de la Perrière, Alexis Sardyga (legal).
Debt – Delsol Avocats, Séverine Bravard (legal).
Equity – Taj, Antoine Larcena, Julien Simoncello, Marion Morvan (legal, corporate finance); Mazars, Pierre Beluze, Catherine Prot, Amaury Dantressangle (financial due diligence).
Management – Colbert Avocats, Denis Simon (legal).