Success Stories - Motion Equity Partners

Minlay

In 2017, Motion Equity Partners supported Minlay's management team in its ambitious development project, which has made Minlay a European and technological leader in the dental prosthetics.

Sector

Healthcare
Buyer

Adagia Partners
Entry

2017

Sales: €17m

Exit

2022

Sales: €85m

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Context

In 2017, funds advised by Motion Equity Partners acquired Minlay, a French leader operating in the dynamic and fragmented dental prosthetics manufacturing and distribution market, alongside its management team and its founder, with the ambition is to assist the Group in its ambitious development project, which includes strengthening its regional presence and investing in technology.

With the support of Motion Equity Partners during 5 years, Minlay became the undisputed market leader, multiplying its sales by 5, with a presence in France, Germany and the Netherlands through 16 laboratories and 12 brands. In 2022, the Group employed more than 440 people and was the technological leader in the industry.

This development, led hand in hand with the management team between 2017 and 2022, ideally positioned Minlay for further growth and for the consolidation of the European market, particularly the German market, which is larger and more fragmented than the French market.

Our impact

Under the impulsion of Motion Equity Partners, Minlay notably :

Quintupled its turnover, thanks to a combination of organic and external growth
Structured its M&A strategy, from sourcing to integration of targets, allowing Minlay to realise more than 20 external growth operations, allowing the Group for a full national coverage
Became a leading player in its market, in France and in Europe, and became the technological leader, thanks to strategic investments in digital-manufacturing technologies, allowing to acquire a unique and differentiating know-how
Initiated its international development with, in particular, a first transforming acquisition in Germany
Deployed an ESG strategy which aims in particular at improving the well-being of employees and reducing the Group’s environmental impact

Testimonial :

We would like to thank the Motion Equity Partners 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.

Eric Darrou

CEO

Holweg Weber

Under the leadership of Motion Equity Partners, HolwegWeber has consolidated its position of a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions.

Sector

Packaging
Employes

300
Entry

2018

Sales: €45m

Exit

2022

Sales: €90m

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Context

In 2018, Motion Equity Partners acquired Holweg Weber, the historical leader in the niche market of paper bag solutions, which operates through two local leading entities, Holweg for Europe, and Weber for the United States. Motion supported the transformation of HolwegWeber into a unified, integrated group that is now the global leader in sustainable packaging solutions.

Under Motion’s ownership, the group has doubled in size and built a strong backlog. It now has a wide range of unique solutions in the paper packaging machinery, including equipment for flat-bottom bags, square-bottom bags, and e-commerce bags, and appears to be the best player to penetrate new dynamic markets. Thanks to the combination with In.Pack, a leading Italian group in plastic film bag making machines and owned by Ambienta since 2019, the combined group will be well positioned to become the world leading player in sustainable packaging solutions, reaching more than €130m of sales.

Our impact

Under Motion Equity Partners’s impulsion, HolwegWeber has notably:

Implemented a governance structure in line with its ambitions & recruited targeted talents to complete its skills and build an integrated Group
Successfully diversified into new high-potential markets (e-commerce, e-food, etc.) by capitalizing on its unique know-how in a leading-edge industry
Made a transforming acquisition in China to address the Asian market with a dedicated offer (1/3 of the world market)
Increased its production capacity in the 3 main sites (USA, France and China) to satisfy a rapidly growing backlog

Motion Equity Partners is also proud to have supported the implementation and deployment of an ambitious ESG strategy, allowing the group to clarify its mission and values: contribute to the reduction of the use of virgin plastic in everyday packaging.

Testimonial :

Motion Equity Partners has been of great support in the elaboration and execution of our strategy and growth plan : intelligence to seize new market dynamics, leading a targeted external growth policy by helping us identifying relevant targets and executing deals, and accelerating our penetration in growing and dynamic markets

Jérôme Onoratini

CEO

Tokheim

From 2005 to 2015, Motion Equity Partners has supported the development of Tokheim and its transformation into a global leader.

Sector

Industrials
Buyer

Dover
Entry

2005

Sales: €361m EV: €250m

Exit

2015

Sales: €700m EV: €445m

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Context

During more than 10 years, Motion Equity Partners has supported the development of Tokheim, the European leader in the production and maintenance of petrol distribution systems.

During Motion Equity Partners’ investment period, the company’s sales have more than doubled, from €360m to over €700m, thanks to industrial development in Asia and in Latin America, and an ambitious external growth strategy (20 acquisitions completed, all crossborder).

The implemented strategy enabled the transformation of the Group from a leading national player at acquisition into a global leader.

Our impact

Under Motion Equity Partners’ impulsion, Tokheim rapidly built up its international presence, becoming a worldwide leader on its market by:

Building the Group into a new dimension through greenfield development and external growth, with more than 20 add-ons completed, and doubling its sales
Drove greenfield development in emerging markets such as Asia, India and Latin America to re-balance Tokheim’s geographical footprint toward fast-growing markets
Successful investment in value-added services with 2 sizeable add-ons: Fairbanks (data analysis) and Start Italia (innovative gauges).

Testimonial :

Tokheim’s strategy hinged upon our ability to replicate our business model globally, and flexibility to quickly analyse and execute on potential acquisitions. With Motion’s support, we were able to turn Tokheim from a EMEA focused business into a global business with expansion in China, India, Brazil, etc…We acquired a dozen of companies over their ownership period, both in our core business and as strategic diversification. Motion's hands on, pragmatic approach and open communication allowed us to develop the trust and mutual respect that underpin any successful partnership.

Baudouin De La Tour

CEO

Diana

Through two successive investments, Motion Equity Partners has supported the development of Diana Group for 10 years. The Group has turned into a global leader in natural ingredients.

Sector

Agrobusiness
Buyer

Symrise
Entry

2003

Sales: €174m EV: €270m

Exit

2014

Sales: €499m EV: €1,300m

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Context

During 10 years and through 2 successive investments, Motion Equity Partners has supported the development of Diana Ingrédients, a global natural ingredients supplier to the pet food and food & beverage industries.

Under Motion’s impulsion, Diana’s sales almost tripled, from €174m to €499m. This development was made possible through many production site openings and a dozen key acquisitions that have allowed the Group to expand its product offer and to better control its procurement of raw materials.

Diana has considerably expanded its international activities. Export sales went from 13% in 2004 to more than 80% in 2014.

Our impact

Between 2004 and 2007, under Motion Equity Partners’s impulsion, Diana has:

Repositioned its business in fast-growing niche markets
Strengthened its pet food division, particularly in North America
Developed its food division with significant acquisitions
Entered the aquaculture market with the creation of Aquativ

Between 2007 and 2014, Diana has accelerated its international presence organically with the creation of new production sites in America, Russia, South Africa and Thailand. The Group has also pursued its external growth strategy with no less than 6 crossborder acquisitions.

Testimonial :

At the beginning of its second LBO, Diana’s main challenge was to kept transforming its growth-oriented business model to maintain its entrepreneurial dynamic. Key success factors have been innovation, as the reference company regarding the development of new solutions or technologies for natural ingredients dedicated to the Food and Pet Food markets, partnerships with our markets’ leaders to meet their future needs, internationalizing of teams and further process. Motion’s team fully understood how important this evolution was and played a key role in implementing these new roadmaps as a very supportive, prompt and agile partner, especially when it came to realizing acquisitions and opening new subsidiaries in Asia and South America. Besides, Motion’s support in the implementation of an ambitious and aggressive Sustainable Development policy turned Diana into a pioneer, if not the leading company, in terms of societal responsibility, relying on strong human values of commitment, respect and loyalty.

Olivier Caix

President and CEO

Altaïr

Motion Equity Partners supported Altaïr’s Management in the transformation of a French focused business into a true European leader. Notably, a transforming build-up was realised: the acquisition of Quimicas Oro in Spain.

Sector

Consumer goods
Employees

370
Entry

2016

Sales: €59m

Current

2020

Sales: €115m

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Context

In 2017, Altaïr completed the acquisition of Quimicas Oro, a Spanish company with €40m in sales. Quimicas Oro is specialized in the production and distribution of insecticides, detergents and cleaning products.

With complementary product offerings, the two Groups benefit from significant commercial and industrial synergies. Altaïr brings the experience of a larger and more structured Group to reinforce Quimicas Oro and allow it to grow through marketing and brand development. Quimicas Oro brings to Altaïr a precious know-how in international business development and many complementary industrial assets.

The acquisition of Quimicas Oro is a significant step for Altaïr: the first transforming acquisition. Altaïr significantly reinforces its activities to become a European leader in household products and insecticides with around €115m of Sales.

Our impact

Under Motion Equity Partners’ impulsion, Altaïr’s Management team has implemented an ambitious buy & build program on a still very fragmented European market. A screening of over 100 targets in Europe was conducted together by Motion and Altaïr.

The acquisition of Quimicas Oro is the result of the intensive M&A work started under Motion’s impulsion.

Since the acquisition, alongside working on the integration of Quimicas Oro, Altaïr has refined its M&A strategy and is currently searching for opportunities in Europe in the cleaning products and domestic insecticides market to further consolidate its positions.

Testimonial :

In 2016, Altaïr's Management team chose Motion Equity Partners for its expertise strong in 'Buy & build'. Through constructive discussion, Motion's team contributed significantly to Altaïr’s scale up. Motion’s team also played a major role in the acquisition of Quimicas Oro, in both sourcing and excecution. Motion Equity Partners’ experience has been instrumental in our efforts to integrate this buildup and to transform the Group's governance as it grew from €59m to over €100m in Sales. Our relationship, demanding yet supportive, energizes our teams in daily business activities and secures our vision in evolving consumer good markets.

Jean-Pierre Dano

CEO

Omni-Pac

Under Motion Equity Partners' leadership, CDL tripled in size, going from €32m in sales to over €100m, following the acquisitions of Omni-Pac in 2017 and MFP in 2020. From the reunion of these three players was created "Omni-Pac Group", a European reference in the eco-friendly packaging segment.

Sector

Packaging
Employees

600
Entry

2014

Sales: €32m

Current

2020

Sales: €100m+

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Context

Since the acquisition, Motion has actively supported CDL’s Management in creating a leading European player via buy & build:

In 2016, CDL acquired OmniPac, the leading German manufacturer of moulder fibre packaging products with strong position on the European egg packaging market. This acquisition in Germany offered strong synergies – in terms of geographical coverage in Europe, product range and industrial asset base
In 2020, CDL-OmniPac acquired Moulded Fibre Products (MFP), an industry leader in the production of packaging for the fruit and vegetable market, as well as hygiene solutions for the United Kingdom’s medical market

From these transforming acquisitions was created “Omni-Pac Group”, a European leader in the moulded fiber packaging.

Our impact

Motion Equity Partners has actively supported Management team to implement a structured M&A strategy which allowed the analyse of a dozen opportunities in Europe.

Following two realised acquisitions, the Group has been radically transformed under Motion ownership from a French SME operating one production facility in Allaire (Brittany) with a strong focus on egg trays into a leading European player offering sustainable packaging alternatives in various industries ranging from food processing to medical and gardening. It now operates three highly automated state-of-the-art production facilities. It employs around 600 people between its three sites at Allaire in Brittany, Elsfleth in Germany and Scunthorpe in the United Kingdom.

Testimonial :

Motion Equity Partners understood the keys to CDL's development from day one and established an honest and trustworthy relationship with our teams. With the acquisition of Omni-Pac in Germany, a build-up completed with their full support, we have transformed a French SME into a European leader, leveraging substantial industrial and commercial synergies. In this decisive step as well as for everyday business, the professionalism of Motion Equity Partners' team made them the ideal partner who supported us in financial engineering, in negotiation with sellers (in this case a complex carve-out), as well as in supporting us in defining our long term vision, developing our teams and executing our strategy. Our relationship, rich from combined experience, has energized our teams and the entire business.

Renaud MALARRE

CEO