Supported by NextStage for the past six years, the Basque glass products distributor, processor, and installer is shaping its future with the arrival of iXO Private Equity and Arkéa Capital as majority shareholders in a €50 million round, with the aim of doubling in size within four years.
By Aurore Barlier, published on July 12, 2022, at 10:32 a.m.
Glass Partners Solutions (GPS) appears to have developed a taste for private equity, having quadrupled its revenue in six years with the support of NextStage AM. The flat-glass distribution and processing group is now set to repeat the experience, this time with the backing of iXO Private Equity and Arkéa Capital Managers. The two co-lead investors are joined by Crédit Agricole PG Développement and NextStage AM, which is reinvesting.
The €50 million equity investment, following a process organized by Lincoln, is also accompanied by senior debt in two tranches, which according to our sources is for an amount almost equivalent to the equity investment. The debt is being provided by Arkéa Banque Entreprises et Institutionnels, Banque Populaire Aquitaine Centre Atlantique, and Caisse d’Epargne Aquitaine Poitou-Charentes.
Founder and CEO Elie Benmergui, who previously held two-thirds of the capital alongside NextStage, is retaining a majority stake. The LBO also brings key executives into the group’s shareholder base.
Annual growth of 18%
When GPS was founded in Anglet in 2002, it initially focused on flat-glass distribution. The business was first expanded in 2012 through diversification into glass processing, and again in 2019 with a move into the installation of small-scale, technically complex architectural projects. Now controlling the entire value chain, apart from flat-glass manufacturing, the group says it can deliver more than 2,500 products within 24 hours through its 86 storage locations across Europe, either directly operated or through partners, serving players in the construction industry (façade contractors, aluminum fabricators, glaziers, joiners, etc.) as well as the rail sector.
Its longstanding presence in the French Basque Country, as well as in Spain (since 2003) and Portugal (since 2005), enables it to serve 1,000 customers and generate more than €130 million in revenue, with average annual growth of 18% over the past six years.
Doubling in size within four years
Now the leading independent European group in its sector, GPS employs 350 people across around a dozen subsidiaries. Despite its significant working-capital requirements, the group, which generates a double-digit margin, has largely avoided the supply-chain issues faced by some of its peers.
“By favoring diversified, high-quality sourcing from a range of independent producers, GPS consistently has access to significant volumes, including during periods of rising raw-material prices such as the one we are experiencing today,” says Thomas Dubourdieu, Investment Director at Arkéa Capital.
Over the next four years, the group now aims to double in size by developing all of its business lines, “primarily through organic growth, while remaining open to potential acquisition opportunities,” the investor says.
Transaction Participants
Target Company: GLASS PARTNERS SOLUTIONS
Acquirer or Investor: IXO PRIVATE EQUITY, Olivier Athanase, Hasnaa Hafid, Pierre-Yves François, ARKEA CAPITAL, Thomas Trideau, Thomas Dubourdieu, Guillaume Lacourcelle, NEXTSTAGE AM, Jean-David Haas, Aloys de Fontaines, Gaëtan Leenhardt, CREDIT AGRICOLE MUTUEL PYRENEES GASCOGNE, Denis Vilarinho, Jean-Michel Mindeguia, FOUNDERS, Elie Benmergui, MANAGERS
Seller: NEXTSTAGE AM, Jean-David Haas, Aloys de Fontaines, FOUNDERS, Elie Benmergui, MANAGERS
M&A Advisor: LINCOLN INTERNATIONAL, Ludovic Rodié, Mathieu Nguyen, François-Xavier Engel, Louise Alix
Corporate Law Firm: JOFFE & ASSOCIÉS, Thomas Saltiel, Antoine Lamy
Financing Law Firm: JEAUSSERAND AUDOUARD, Marie-Paule Noël
Acquirer’s Corporate Counsel: LAMARTINE CONSEIL, Olivier Renault, Maeva Dumas Suire
