Milestone's Dehaen bolts on Max Plus; Sodero exits

Alessia Argentieri
23 March 2020

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Belgium wholesaler and distributor Paul Dehaen, which is backed by Luxembourg-based private equity firm Milestone Investisseurs, has acquired French household products retailer Max Plus.

French private equity firm Sodero Gestion, which acquired a minority stake in Max Plus in 2009, has exited the investment.

Senior debt to finance the bolt-on was provided by CIC Ouest, Banque Populaire Grand Ouest and Caisse d'Epargne Bretagne Pays de Loire, while subordinated debt was deployed by Eurefi.

Milestone bought a majority stake in Paul Dehaen in February 2017. CBC and Belfius provided debt to support the deal.

Milestone targets companies with enterprise values of €20-120m and deploys equity tickets in the €15-50m range. The firm invests its own capital, as well as capital raised from international institutional investors and family offices. It usually operates via a deal-by-deal fund model, tailoring each investment opportunity to meet the specific needs of the target company and offering greater flexibility in terms of length, extension and type of ownership.

Established in 2001, Paul Dehaen is a wholesaler and distributor of consumer goods – primarily household, cosmetic and beauty products – to independent retailers. It is based in Ghislenghien, Belgium, with additional offices in France, Spain and the UK.

With this add-on, Dehaen expects to reach revenues in excess of €80m in 2020 and build a large platform specialising in the low-end retail sector.

The group intends to pursue the development of both brands by opening new Max Plus shops in France and NET shops in Belgium, expanding Dehaen's wholesale activity in the rest of Europe and the Middle East, and adding new distribution channels.

Furthermore, Dehaen and Max Plus expect to benefit from strong synergies in terms of product categories and distribution networks.

Company
Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Rennes, Max Plus operates 45 directly owned shops and five franchised shops located in the west, south-west and east of France.

It focuses on household, DIY and textiles products, as well as food, toys, books and seasonal items. The company generated revenues of €50m in 2019.

People
Milestone Investisseurs – Olivier Antomarchi (partner); Jérôme Fournier Le Ray (director).
Paul Dehaen – Jean-Philippe Habran (CEO).
Max Plus – Muriel Sarrazyn, David Declercq (co-CEOs).

Advisers
Vendor – Eight Advisory (financial due diligence); Adviso Partners (corporate finance); Fidal (legal).
Acquirer – Jeantet (legal); Arendt (legal); Travers Smith (legal); Deloitte (financial due diligence); Cobalt Partners (commercial due diligence).