One year after inaugurating its Industry 4.0 facility, the Ardèche-based technical fabrics group, which generates €35 million in revenue, is looking to double its production capacity and welcomes Yotta, which is investing €5 million.
Updated June 22, 2022 — Chamatex welcomes a new financial partner. Acquired in 2011 by Gilles Reguillon, the Ardèche-based group, which designs and manufactures technical fabrics, had already reshuffled its shareholder base in 2020, bringing Bpifrance and Etoile on board while also allowing a handful of executives to acquire stakes (see below). The group is now strengthening its shareholder base with Yotta Capital, whose investment team had been highly interested two years ago but was unable to participate after failing to complete its fundraising at the time. Today, Yotta is investing through its vehicle dedicated to the industry of the future, marking its sixth investment. It is contributing €5 million to a capital increase aimed in particular at supporting the ramp-up of the Industry 4.0 facility the group commissioned last year and, more broadly, its plans to reshore textile manufacturing. At the same time, seven company executives are joining the holding company, which already brings together nine managers. Management retains a majority stake in the capital.
Taking Control of Production
A major regional textile group battered by successive crises that weakened the sector, Chamatex pivoted toward technical fabrics to return to growth, quintupling its revenue over ten years to €35 million. It now supplies the luxury luggage, personal protective equipment, home furnishings, motorsport racing suits, and, last but not least, sportswear and footwear segments.
The group invested around €10 million last year to manufacture sports shoes in France, building a fully automated facility, ASF 4.0, operated by a company of the same name. Chamatex brought several of its industrial partners into the company’s shareholding, led by Salomon alongside Babolat and Millet (15% of the capital), as well as industrial partner Zebra and a pool of financial investors (Centre Technique du Cuir, business angels, etc.).
Designed to produce 300,000 to 400,000 pairs of sports shoes a year, the production facility will be expanded at a cost of around €5 million, doubling its capacity within five years. The goal is to produce 100% made-in-France footwear using its Matryx technical fabric.
Doubling Revenue
“We are supporting Chamatex in its organic growth projects by financing the expansion of the Industry 4.0 facility and strengthening the industrial capabilities of the group’s various sites, as well as in its external growth initiatives,” explains Benoit Perrot, co-founder and Managing Partner of Yotta.
The group, which acquired Rocle, a specialist in upholstery fabrics, in 2019 and Toptex Cube, a start-up that developed a seamless textile assembly technology, in 2021 (see below), is looking to strengthen its control over its supply and production chain. It is also exploring the possibility of setting up a Matryx facility in Vietnam, close to footwear manufacturers, following the establishment of a production center in Tunisia through Toptex Cube.
“This modern manufacturing facility, which uses laser-cutting and ultrasonic-welding technologies, is expected to employ around 100 people once fully operational. It complements Chamatex’s industrial capabilities by enabling the group to target the entry-level segment of sports products,” explains Julian Dykiert, Managing Director of the 280-employee group. These projects are expected to help the company double its revenue within three to five years.
Transaction Participants
Target Company: CHAMATEX GROUP
Acquirer or Investor: YOTTA CAPITAL PARTNERS, Benoît Perrot, Pierre Dejoux, Daniel Javed, Nina Hervé
Corporate Law Firm: PERICLES AVOCATS, Frédéric Chaillet, Eve-Marie Suet
Acquirer’s Corporate Counsel: JOFFE & ASSOCIÉS, Thomas Saltiel, Camille Malbezin, Catherine Diril
Acquirer’s Legal and Tax Due Diligence: JOFFE & ASSOCIÉS, Thomas Saltiel, Camille Malbezin, Catherine Diril; MAZARS SOCIETE D’AVOCATS, Marine Cambolin, Claire Maisonneuve, Mathilde Guillermic
Acquirer’s Intellectual Property Due Diligence: JOFFE & ASSOCIÉS, Margaux Parmentier
