Sagard takes majority stake in EOS Corrugated Group

Sagard entered exclusive negotiations on 23 November 2021 to acquire EOS Corrugated from Capza, in the fourth investment of its fourth fund, with chief executive Philippe Ramirez and his management team remaining significant shareholders. EOS Corrugated manufactures and distributes the consumable parts that corrugated board machines wear out in the course of production: the anvil covers against which the cutting rules press, the belts carrying the sheets through the line, and the rotary die-cutting tools that shape the board. It produces these from compact polyurethane and technical textiles at six plants in Europe and China, employs more than 170 people and serves over 2,500 customers across some eighty countries, supported by a network of more than thirty exclusive distributors and agents. Revenue amounted to €25–50M in 2021. Replacement rather than installation drives the demand, since each of these parts wears out at intervals measured in weeks or months and the box plant cannot run without them, which ties the supplier’s volume to its customers’ output rather than to their investment decisions. Regulation has altered the products themselves, the European restriction of MBOCA, a curing agent used in polyurethane and classified as carcinogenic, obliging manufacturers to reformulate, and the company developed alternatives free of it. Capza had held the business for three years, over which it acquired Policart, established a position in the United States and strengthened the management organisation. Goodwin advised Sagard on legal and tax matters, with Lazard and Pramex on corporate finance, PwC on financial, Kearney on strategic and D’Ornano on legal, employment and tax due diligence, while Edmond de Rothschild advised Capza, with Simmons & Simmons as counsel and Oderis on vendor due diligence.

By taking control of EOS Corrugated Group, Sagard continues its expansion strategy. Previously, the group had completed 3 acquisitions, including Nutrisens in 2021.