Retiwood (France) - Dec 2007

unquote
01 December 2007

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Oddo Asset Management and Naxicap Partners have invested €2.4m and €1m respectively in wood treatment specialist Retiwood. The company’s CEO, which bought out the company in 2004, retains a majority stake. The investors sourced the transaction through advisor Dimensions Conseils. No further funding should be required.

Company

Retiwood has secured a patent for a non-chemical heating process which changes the properties of wood. The company’s technology, which can be applied to any type of wood, irreversibly makes the material hydrophobic, protecting it from fungus and decay, and darkening it slightly. The process also purifies and de-pollutes wood. In 2008, new legislation will be passed forbidding the import of certain types of exotic woods, as well as banning a range of chemical treatments. The company will aim to either sell treated wood, or conduct subcontracted wood treatment, and hopes to apply its de-polluting process on railway lines. In 2006, the business generated sales of €2.5m, a figure which is expected to increase to €7m in 2007, and to double the following year. Founded in 1997 and based in Boulogne, the company currently owns three production facilities and employs around 20 staff.

People

Olivier Hua and Laetitia Vuitton worked on the transaction for Oddo Asset Management, while Marc Le Gallais represented Naxicap Partners. Marc Privé is Retiwood’s CEO.

Advisers

Equity - ACA Nexia, Fabrice Huglin (Financial Due Diligence)Equity - Brunswick, Philippe Beauregard, Sandra Zucker (Legal)Management - Cabinet Guerin, Guillaume Cazelles (Legal)Management - Dimensions Conseils, Claude Brian, Stéphane Rigaud (Corporate Finance)

Sourced from: France unquote" 87 (Jan 2008)