IK buys Blanchon from Abénex

Abénex will reinvest in the new transaction alongside IK and the management team, headed by Guillaume Clément. Completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of relevant antitrust authorities.

Blanchon is the first investment made from IK Small Cap III Fund, which closed in April 2021 on EUR 1.2bn. The vehicle follows the same investment strategy as its predecessor, focusing on the core sectors of business services, healthcare, consumer and industrials. It will invest in 15-20 companies with enterprise values of €50-150m.

Abénex acquired a majority stake in Blanchon in 2019 alongside the company's management. The deal, which was supported by a debt package supplied by BNP Paribas, CIC, Societe Generale, LCL and Crédit Agricole Centre-Est, enabled several heirs of the company's founding family to realise their shareholdings in the business. The financial details of the transaction remained undisclosed, though the company was known to have been valued at less than EUR 100m at the time.

Since then, the company has accelerated its international expansion, according to Abénex. It notably acquired Belgian company Debal Finance, which operates the Ciranova brand and generates EUR 15m in turnover.

Company
Founded in 1832 and headquartered near Lyon, Blanchon specialises in wood treatments, including varnishes and paints. It operates through four brands: Blanchon, Ciranova and Carver, dedicated to professionals; and the Syntilor brand distributed in DIY retail networks. Blanchon has six production sites and expects to reach EUR 100m in sales in 2021, of which a third will come from exports.

People
IK Investment Partners – Arnaud Bosc (partner).
Abénex – Jérôme Vandermarcq (partner).

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