Category: Uncategorized

Olmix Group, global specialist in natural solutions for agriculture, has finalized the acquisition of the French biotech company Bois Valor, expert in foliar biostimulants and seed treatment solutions, in order to strengthen its Plant Care activity and accelerate its development.

Olmix is a global player in natural solutions, alternatives to chemical and pharmaceutical inputs, used in agriculture. Since nearly 30 years, the company has established itself as a specialist in marine biotechnology and green chemistry and offers today a comprehensive range of innovative and recognised products, based on algae, clays, trace elements and organic matter, for two main markets: “Animal Care” (natural solutions used in animal nutrition and health, aiming to reduce antibiotics and chemical products) and “Plant Care” (natural solutions to improve soil structure, nutrition and plant health; aiming at reducing the use of chemical and phytopharmaceutical inputs). Olmix products are distributed in more than 100 countries on 5 continents, via distributors and cooperatives, and the group relies on a network of 28 international locations.

After 15 years of academic and scientific research and the development of a patent related to a specific extraction process, Dr Marie Morard created Bois Valor in 2004, a French biotech company specialized in the extraction of active ingredients from wood and plants, and the development of biostimulants for plants and film coating for seeds. Its biosourced solutions, tested and validated by numerous experiments and scientific publications, supply the international leaders in plant protection, biostimulants and seeds.

With this acquisition, Olmix intends to accelerate the growth of its Plant Care business by consolidating its portfolio of biosourced solutions targeting soil and plant health as well as seed protection. This merger is the result of a common vision shared by the two companies as well as shared values based on an entrepreneurial spirit, a scientific approach to knowledge and the importance of innovation for productive and sustainable agriculture. Following the integration of Bois Valor, the group will keep actively looking at acquisition and partnership opportunities, in France and abroad.

“After three years of double-digit organic growth, Olmix has made its first acquisition with the integration of Bois Valor, a company that has developed a quality offer and significant know-how, which is perfectly complementary to the Olmix’s Plant Care activity. This acquisition strengthens our ambition to become the key player in biostimulation solutions for economically and environmentally efficient agriculture and healthy, high-quality food that is accessible to the greatest number of people,” said Robert Clapham, Olmix’s CEO.

“Joining Olmix is a major step for Bois Valor. Deeply inspired by a culture of innovation, our team will be able to rely on an international distribution network and change the scale of deployment of our solutions. We share with Olmix a common vision of the issues surrounding agriculture and food, a belief in the potential of nature and its renewable resources, and innovation as a driving force. These are the main aspects that convinced us to join the Group.“, says Dr Marie Morard, founder of Bois Valor.

“We are very proud to announce the acquisition of Bois Valor, Olmix’s first build-up since the entry of Motion Equity Partners. This is a unique opportunity for Olmix to strengthen its Plant Care activity and accelerate the development of its range of biostimulants and ingredients, with the integration of an innovative player who shares the same ambitions for tomorrow’s agriculture. Other attractive build-up opportunities are currently investigated,” said Patrick Eisenchteter, Managing Partner at Motion Equity Partners.

Motion Equity Partners is pleased to announce the promotion of Virgilio Arria as Investment Manager.

Virgilio started his career within Motion Equity Partners’ team in 2017. He is today in charge of backing EA Pharma, Olmix, Atlas For Men and Tournaire.

In 2022, Virgilio was notably involved in the acquisition of Tournaire (a primary deal on a global player of high-performance industrial packaging) and Atlas For Men (European D2C platform) as well as in the sale of HolwegWeber (global leader of solutions for sustainable packaging). In addition, he played a key role within the development of portfolio companies with both build-up operations and refinancing, notably EA Pharma (European lab specialized in health-nutrition) and Olmix (global supplier of natural solutions, offering sustainable alternatives to chemical and pharmaceutical inputs used for farming).

He is a graduate of EDHEC Business School.

Motion Equity Partners has acquired a majority stake in Tournaire Group, an historical leading global player in high-barrier packaging, alongside its founding family, which retains a significant share of the capital.

Founded in 1833, Tournaire relies on nearly two centuries of expertise in the design, manufacture and sale of high-barrier packaging solutions, mainly in aluminium (ranging from 15mL to 32L) used to safely store, sample, ship and market high value / noble materials (essential oils, active ingredients, solvents, etc.). As a strategic partner, the Group has a diversified portfolio of more than 900 clients operating in resilient and dynamic sectors such as pharmaceuticals, flavors & fragrances, agro-chemicals, chemicals and food ingredients. The one-piece technology and high-barrier properties of Tournaire’s aluminium solutions perfectly meet their requirements in terms of performance and recyclability.

Historically rooted in Grasse, the world’s perfume capital, the Group operates there its main production site and benefits from a unique industrial know-how. Tournaire also operates a manufacturing site located in Fragnes (Saône-et-Loire) dedicated to the production of high-barrier plastic packaging as well as sales offices in the United States and Vietnam. Tournaire distributes its solutions in 80 countries worldwide and employs nearly 300 people. In 2021, the Group realized +90m€ Sales.

On the eve of Tournaire’s 190th anniversary, the family shareholders of the Group wish to give themselves additional resources to seize the numerous opportunities of growth available to the Group. In order to keep on supporting the growing needs of its clients in particularly dynamic markets, the founding family has chosen to build a strategic and financial partnership with Motion Equity Partners, a private equity investor with a strong entrepreneurial culture and relevant track-record in such projects.

In the coming years, the objective will be to consolidate Tournaire’s positions in its historical markets, and to accelerate the development of the Group, both internationally and in high potential application markets. All this while continuing to provide a service of excellence to its clients, with a focus on innovation and environmental protection. Post-operation, the historical shareholders will retain a significant share of the capital, offering the Group a real continuity.

“Motion Equity Partners has an ambitious project for Tournaire, with a long-term approach. Their rapid understanding of the stakes of the Group and its markets quickly convinced us of the relevance of this new strategic partnership. This project is a great opportunity to reinforce our organization as well as our shareholding structure via a long-term partnership with a professional investor and boost our development, while preserving our values, our autonomy and the strengths that make our success. This operation will allow Tournaire to move forward and invest even more in innovation and in our operations” declared Jeanne Lions, CEO of Tournaire.

“We are particularly proud to support Tournaire in this new step of development alongside the founding family. The Group has established itself as a French industrial flagship and one of the leading players in high-performance industrial packaging, offering solutions recognized by its clients. Leveraging our expertise in the field of renewable packaging, we will build an ambitious roadmap, capitalizing on a rich heritage as well as strong corporate values” said Patrick Eisenchteter and Anthony Baudoin, Partners at Motion Equity Partners.

Motion Equity Partners is pleased to announce the disposal of the HolwegWeber Group to Ambienta. HolwegWeber will benefit from the contribution of In.Pack Machinery, Ambienta’s current portfolio company, to reinforce its position of global leader in machinery for sustainable pre-made packaging.

HolwegWeber is a global player specialized in the design, development and assembly of eco-packaging machinery solutions. The Group is comprised of three historical brands Holweg, Weber and MDM and has a broad product offering in the paper machines space, including machines for flat bottom bags, square bottom bags and e-commerce bags. HolwegWeber’s solutions address resilient and attractive end markets (food retail, e-commerce, other retail) and serve a broad range of prestigious customers. Thanks to more than a century of cumulated IP and know-how, and unique R&D capacities, HolwegWeber is the market leader in terms of innovation, contributing to the reduction of virgin plastic use in people’s daily lives. The HolwegWeber Group operates three business units, for North America, Kiel WI – USA, for Europe Molsheim France and for Asia-Pacific Guangzhou – China.

Motion Equity Partners acquired HolwegWeber in 2018 alongside its Management team, committed to an ambitious growth project based on the acceleration of R&D strategy and further international expansion, through a combination of both organic and external growth.
Under Motion Equity Partners’ ownership, thanks to a strong R&D effort (notably on the e-commerce packaging), the reinforcement of the salesforce combined to macrotrends positive acceleration driven by the shift from virgin plastic to sustainable packaging, the Group has doubled its sales and profitability and benefits from a record backlog, with orders until 2024.

Motion Equity Partners also actively supported the group’s external growth strategy, allowing for a transforming acquisition in China in 2021, and to build a strong M&A pipeline resulting in promising upcoming opportunities. Motion Equity Partners is also proud to have supported the implementation and deployment of an ambitious CSR strategy, notably enabling the group to clarify its mission: contribute to the reduction of the use of virgin plastic in our day-to-day lives. HolwegWeber is now ideally positioned to combine its expertise with In.Pack, to become the reference sustainable packaging solutions player in the world.

Formed in 2019 when Ambienta acquired the Group Amutec, In.Pack is an Italian group leader in film-based bag-making machines with 2 production facilities in Italy. By creating In.Pack, Ambienta combined 3 separate companies, expanding In.Pack’s addressable markets and geographical reach, resulting in a comprehensive product offering covering sectors such as waste, fruit and vegetables, industrial applications and e-commerce.

With a diversified offering of machines, a strong presence in Latin America and a proven M&A platform having already realized 2 acquisitions, In.Pack is perfectly positioned to join HolwegWeber’s project. Led by HolwegWeber’s current CEO, Jérôme Onoratini, the combination of In.Pack and HolwegWeber will achieve €130m in revenues and constitute a one-stop shop player in the flexible packaging market being the reference market in terms of size, product range, profitability, commercial and manufacturing footprint capable of supplying the leading packaging companies globally.

Cédric Rays, Partner at Motion Equity Partners, stated: “Since Motion’s entry in 2018, HolwegWeber has scaled-up to become a leading global provider of eco-packaging machinery solutions at the forefront of sustainability. HolwegWeber’s success story perfectly fits with Motion Equity Partners’ DNA.”

Anthony Baudoin, Partner at Motion Equity Partners, added: “We are very proud to have supported HolwegWeber’s evolution, strengthening the Group’s leadership, helping it position itself as a reference innovation player and initiating its ambitious external growth strategy. We are pleased to hand-over to Ambienta and In.Pack, which we believe is a great opportunity to create a global leader in sustainable packaging.”

Jérôme Onoratini, CEO of The HolwegWeber Group, added: “The partnership with Motion Equity Partners was key in the definition and implementation of our roadmap on the strategic, commercial, M&A and ESG front. We are now fully set up for our next development phase: the combination of In.Pack and HolwegWeber will allow to create a global, sustainable and diversified platform. We are looking forward to this new journey with Ambienta to better serve the mission to provide sustainable packaging solution for people’s daily life.”

Motion Equity Partners is pleased to announce the signing of an exclusivity agreement with Adagia Partners for the disposal of Minlay Group.

Founded in 2006, Minlay is a major European player and the French leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of dental prosthetic devices. Located in France, Germany and the Netherlands through its 16 laboratories and 12 brands, the Group employs approximately 440 people. Minlay mainly targets a client base of independent dentists, but also dental centers or networks of dental centers, for whom the Group designs devices ranging from fixed prosthetics (to replace one or several teeth) to removable devices (to replace several or even all teeth).

The Group’s custom-made prosthetic devices are manufactured using the latest generation of equipment and technologies and Minlay is able to meet dentists’ highest requirements in terms of product quality and traceability thanks to a unique know-how and organization.

Funds advised by Motion Equity Partners acquired Minlay in 2017 alongside its Management team and its founder, with the ambition to support an ambitious growth project, with a commitment to further expand its regional footprint and invest in technology. Since then, Motion Equity Partners’ team has actively supported Minlay in its development, relying on both organic and external growth.

Under Motion Equity Partners’ ownership, Minlay carried out nearly 20 external growth operations, growing revenue five-fold between 2017 and 2022 and allowing for the creation of 6 regional hubs in France where the Group has become the undisputed market and technological leader. Since 2017, Minlay has also initiated the acceleration of its international development with a first acquisition in Germany at the end of 2020.

Motion Equity Partners is also proud to have supported the deployment of an ambitious CSR strategy aimed at improving employee well-being and reducing the Group’s environmental impact. The Group’s massive investment in the digitalization of production processes has notably allowed to improve working conditions in labs and to reduce carbon footprint.

Minlay is today ideally positioned to further accelerate its development, both in France and in the rest of Europe.

Cédric Rays, Managing Partner at Motion Equity Partners, stated: “Since our initial investment in 2017, Minlay has scaled-up to become the undisputed French leader in the manufacture and commercialization of dental prosthetic devices. We are very proud to have supported this transformation, particularly in the execution of an ambitious external growth strategy that resulted in nearly 20 acquisitions over the past 4 years. We are very happy to hand-over to Adagia Partners, which we believe is an ideal partner to support the Group in its European development.”

Eric Darrou, CEO of the Minlay Group, added: “We would like to thank the Motion team for their decisive contribution to the development of Minlay. We have been very happy to share this entrepreneurial adventure alongside them. The Group is now ideally positioned to accelerate its growth, both in France and in the rest of Europe, in a resilient and fragmented European dental prosthetics market. Minlay’s team is delighted to welcome another high-quality sponsor such as Adagia Partners, with whom we share the same entrepreneurial mindset and which will be able to support us actively in our European development, especially in Germany “.

EA Pharma, a reference player in Oligotherapy, Health Supplements, Active & Organic Nutrition and Cosmetics, announces today that it has completed its second international build-up with the acquisition of the Italian brand Stardea from Cooper Consumer Health.

With a history of 70+ years and renowned for its expertise in Oligotherapy, EA Pharma is a European leading pharmaceutical lab specialized in natural and efficient health nutrition.

EA Pharma covers 3 main areas through a diversified portfolio of drugs and food supplements:

• Oligotherapy: pioneer and undisputed leader in oligotherapy with both MA and food supplements through 2 recognized brands Granions and Labcatal ;
• Health Supplements: leading position in several sub segments under its 2 umbrella brands, Granions (France) and Drasanvi (Spain) ;
• Active & Organic Nutrition: comprehensive portfolio of expert sports nutrition products;
• Cosmetics : wide range of care products combining the Group’s know-how

French pharmacies are the historical and prevailing distribution channel, notwithstanding the fact that the Company has recently diversified its distribution network with e-commerce and exports now spanning 4 different continents.

 Founded in 2005 in Italy, Stardea is a historical and renowned player in the fields of nutraceuticals, medical devices and dermo cosmetics. With a high-end and concentrated product range characterized with quality, effectiveness and safety, its product portfolio is promoted by many doctors in Italy and sold in pharmacies.

This second international acquisition follows the successive takeovers of Nutrivercell (2017), PunchPower (2018) and Labcatal (2020) in France, and Drasanvi in Spain (2021).

“EA Pharma and Stardea share the DNA of developing high quality healthcare products recommended by healthcare professionals to patients. Our encounter was inevitable. This merger will further enhance innovations and growth for both entities in a very buoyant environment.” said Thierry Verne, CEO of EA Pharma.

“Stardea has made a significant contribution to the group over the past few years, thanks to the quality of its products and the commitment of its employees. The EA Pharma Group is the natural buyer of the company and we are convinced that it will take Stardea to a new dimension.” declared Yvan Vindevogel – Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Cooper Consumer Health.

“We are very proud of this second international step, which represents a unique opportunity for EA Pharma to penetrate the strategic Italian market and extend its European footprint with an already well-established brand. With the acquisition of Stardea, EA Pharma confirms its truly European profile.” said Patrick Eisenchteter, Managing Partner at Motion Equity Partners.

Only a few months after the refinancing of the Group, Motion Equity Partners submitted a direct offer to Latour Capital, with the aim of acquiring the Group Atlasformen, a European leader in the multichannel sales of outdoor clothes for men.

Founded by Marc Delamarre in 1999, Atlasformen is a company specialised in the direct marketing and distribution of casual, outdoor-oriented & timeless collections at affordable prices. Atlasformen’s strength resides in its D2C storeless business model, spanning both an offline (catalogues) and an online (e-commerce) offer. The Group now establishes itself as a reference player on its market, thanks to its robust model and its operational excellence.

These past few years, Atlasformen delivered a dynamic performance: the Group’s revenue rose organically from €189M in 2018 to more than €276M in 2021. Over this period, the company has pursued its international growth, with successful developments in the United Kingdom (2018), in Hungary (2020), in Canada (early 2021) in the United States since the end of 2021. As of today, the company operates in 14 countries, with a wide potential for further growth.

Moreover, Atlasformen has pursued the development of its digital strategy: online sales account for more than 35% of its orders, in constant progression since 2019.

Atlasformen constitutes the second investment of the fund Motion IV, raised in 2021. Thanks to its expertise in the consumer goods sector, in D2C brands as well as in international expansion, Motion Equity Partners intends to support the Group in its next growth phase, notably through the pursue of its digital strategy in Europe and its expansion in North America.

Cédric Rays, Partner at Motion Equity Partners, states: “We are delighted of this second investment for Motion IV. We have been following the Group for some years and have always been impressed with its strength, with the consistency of its model and with its capacity to position itself as a reference player on its market, country after country. We deeply share the ambition of Marc Delamarre and Atlaformen’s teams, whom, strengthened by the successes recorded these last years, aim at an even more steady development for their Group”

Philippe Léoni and Maxime Gutton, Partners at Latour, add: “Throughout our investment period, we have been very favorably impressed by the great quality of the management team and its capacity of continuous adaptation in order to successfully deliver its ambitious strategy. With the recent launch of the United States and an excellent dynamic on the digital channel, Atlasformen is in the best place to accelerate its growth. We are very proud of having been able to support them and wish them the best for the future”

Marc Delamarre, Atlasformen’s President, concludes: “We have been particularly satisfied with our journey with Latour Capital and I would like to thank them for their advice, their support and their vision through this period of significant growth. The pursue of our international development, the rising digitalization of our business and the “data driven” expertise remain our priorities for the years to come. I am convinced that Motion Equity Partners, with its strong entrepreneurial expertise, will be an important asset for the pursue of our growth and the achievement of our ambitious objectives.”

Olmix – a worldwide specialist of natural solutions for agriculture – carried out a structuring refinancing that will provide the Group with additional resources to accelerate its development.

In October 2020, Motion Equity Partners and Amadéite (the holding company of the founder) acquired a majority stake in Olmix, a specialist of natural solutions for sustainable agriculture. Since the entry, the Group put in place a new governance and a clear roadmap for growth that successfully led to strong topline.

On the back of a dynamic growth, Olmix successfully carried out a refinancing with the issuance of a Unitranche debt facility from Bridgepoint Credit.

The new debt facility will provide the Group with additional resources to deliver its strong growth ambitions in dynamic markets, in particular the deployment of a Buy & Build strategy. This very competitive debt provides the Group with important acquisition lines and includes an ESG ratchet to reward Olmix for its positive impact on the environment.

“Olmix is an innovative biotech that has established itself as one of the reference players to contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture. This refinancing is a key milestone in our project: it will provide Olmix with additional means to capture the full potential of the Group, notably through targeted M&A. The ESG ratchet agreed with Bridgepoint Credit will reward Olmix for its positive impact on the environment.” declared Patrick Eisenchteter, Managing Partner at Motion Equity Partners.

 About Olmix

Olmix is a group specialized in natural solutions for agriculture, offering sustainable alternatives to chemical and pharmaceutical inputs, realizing +160m€ Sales. Founded in 1995 in Brittany, the Group has turned into one of the world specialists of marine biotechnologies and green chemistry, thanks to its unique expertise in valuing and transforming algae resulting from multiple R&D investments.

Through the development of innovative and recognized natural solutions (based on algae, trace elements, clays and organic matters), the Group supports farmers, breeders and agricultural distribution chains in adapting production models. It addresses two main markets:

• “Animal Care”: solutions to improve animal welfare, nutrition & health, and thus reduce the use of antibiotics and chemical additives;
• “Plant Care”: solutions to improve soil structure and plant nutrition & health, and thus reduce the use of chemicals.

Olmix’s products are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide through distributors and cooperatives. The Company benefits from a network of 28 implantations and employs 650 people.

The French laboratory Equilibre Attitude, a reference player in Oligotherapy, food supplements and sports nutrition, today announces that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with the Spanish Group Drasanvi, to realise its first international acquisition.

Renowned for its expertise in Oligotherapy, Equilibre Attitude is a French pharmaceutical Group offering a large range of drugs and food supplements:

• Oligotherapy: drugs and food supplements formulated with oligo-elements under the brands Oligosol, Laboratoire des Granions and Oligostim;
• Well-being and health: a complete range of food supplements, with flagship products such as Duab (urinary comfort), Chondrostéo (joint care), Conceptio (fertility and pregnancy) or Veinomix (venous comfort);
• Sports nutrition: food supplements, nutritive products and athletic health care with the brands EAFit, Punch Power and Foucaud.

The Group’s products are distributed in pharmacies and parapharmacies, as well as in specialized stores and online.

EA Pharma has also recently signed a commercial partnership with Poupina brand, a long-standing range of Baby care products, ensuring the Group’s rapid penetration into this new line of products and strengthening its presence in pharmacies.

Drasanvi is a leading Spanish company in the food supplements, natural cosmetics and health nutrition sector. With more than 25 years of experience, the Group is a reference player in the field of health, beauty and wellbeing thanks to its high-quality products of natural origin. Drasanvi enjoys a unique position with a wide range of products. The company markets brands such as Super Alimentos, Collmar, Botanical bio, Vital pur, Immunol and Oseogen.

Drasanvi’s product range is based on 3 pillars: a differentiating quality, a rigorous selection of raw materials and a controlled internal production process through its industrial tool located in Leon.

“We are convinced that the combination of EA Pharma and Drasanvi will allow both companies to accelerate their development. Both groups share a common culture of developing high quality and differentiated products,” said Thierry Verne, CEO of EA Pharma.

“For Drasanvi, this combination is a big step forward in its international expansion, we will strengthen both companies, innovation and commitment to quality will continue to be our hallmarks. The entire Drasanvi family is very pleased with this new success,” declared Oscar Lopez, CEO & Founder of Drasanvi.

This first international acquisition follows the successive takeovers of Nutrivercell (2017), PunchPower (2018) and Labcatal (2020).

“We are very proud of this new step in the EA Pharma project. With the acquisition of Drasanvi, EA Pharma becomes a true European consolidation platform ideally positioned to pursue its development,” said Patrick Eisenchteter, Managing Partner at Motion Equity Partners.