Ardian, a world-leading private equity house, announces that it has entered into exclusive discussions to acquire a majority stake in Robot-Coupe and Magimix, alongside Hameur Group.
Founded in 1961 in the French region of Burgundy, Robot-Coupe is the undisputed global market leader in premium benchtop equipment for professional use. Robot-Coupe has become a must-have in all professional kitchens, leveraging its superior brand image and value proposition. Its products are known for their reliability, durability, adaptability, reparability, easy-to-use features and Made-in-France quality.
The company is present in over 130 countries and serves more than 7,000 distributors and importers across the world, with leading market shares in its core geographies (namely the US, France, Australia and the UK). Robot-Coupe’s expansion is supported by a unique sales & marketing strategy, which benefits from a large and proactive on-the-ground sales team.
Over the past 60 years, Robot-Coupe has developed an attractive and innovative product portfolio covering most food preparation, from chopping and mixing to whisking and emulsifying. Its main product groups are food processors, vegetable preparators, juicers, and blenders, with each model designed in a wide range of sizes and functions for greater capacity and versatility.
Magimix was created in 1971 by leveraging Robot-Coupe’s expertise and focuses on premium small kitchen appliances for domestic use. This iconic brand is an industry leader in food preparation equipment such as food processors, blenders, juicers and coffee machines (via a strategic partnership with Nespresso initiated in 1997). The company primarily operates in France, the UK and the Netherlands, and serves a diversified customer base of specialized retailers, department stores and independent retailers, supported by a strong online presence.
Through this partnership, Ardian and the Hameur Group will support the Robot-Coupe and Magimix’s management teams plan to consolidate their market leadership position through accelerated organic growth and internationalization. This growth is expected to be delivered by the continued success of their existing products, a pipeline of new innovative solutions and potentially seizing external growth opportunities. Ardian is well placed to support the group’s ambitious strategic plan given its track record, expertise and international network in the Food Value Chain sector.
The completion of the transaction is subject to the legal usual conditions and the approval of the relevant regulatory authorities.
“Given our common DNA, based on French roots combined with international reach, we are convinced that Ardian is the right partner to begin a new chapter for the Group. We would like to welcome the Ardian team, who share our values, our vision and our ambition to accelerate the development of the company. Together, we will focus on enhancing Robot-Coupe and Magimix’s leadership position by combining our resources, know-how and strategic vision. We are delighted with this partnership, which marks a new momentum for our group.” Gilbert Verdun, CEO of Robot-Coupe and Magimix
“We are very pleased by this ambitious partnership with the Hameur Group, based on shared values and mutual trust. This partnership allows us to invest in a unique Group combining two iconic brands in a sector we know well and in which we have a strong network. This transaction is another example of how Ardian is the partner of choice in accompanying a family-owned group in its next development phase.” Thibault Basquin, Co-Head of Buyout and Member of the Executive Committee, Ardian
“With their renowned expertise and their long-term vision, the Hameur Group representatives, Gilbert Verdun and his teams have created global market leaders, offering innovative and unrivalled products targeting the attractive Food-Service industry. We are glad to partner with them in this new chapter and to accompany them in their accelerated growth and diversification strategy.” Emmanuel Miquel, Co-Head of Buyout France & Managing Director, Ardian
Over the course of our interactions, we have been very impressed by the quality of Robot-Coupe and Magimix’s management and their passion to create the best and most efficient food preparation products. We look forward to supporting them in the next development phase.” Alexis Manet, Managing Director Buyout, Ardian
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
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Ardian
- Ardian: Thibault Basquin, Emmanuel Miquel, Alexis Manet, Nicolas Kassab, Anouk Daoudal, Martin Blanc
- Ardian financing team: Gregory Buscayret, Aris Toranian
- Buyer M&A advisors: Amala Partners (Jean-Baptiste Marchand, Vincent Ville, Chloé Spigolon), J.P. Morgan (Kyril Courboin, Rogier Pop, Mounir Chahine), Sycomore Corporate Finance (François Vigne), PC Associés (André François-Poncet)
- Buyer legal advisor: Latham & Watkins (Gaetan Gianasso, Michael Colle, Aymeric Derrien-Akagawa (corporate), Xavier Farde, Carla-Sophie Imperadeiro (financing), Xavier Renard, Camille Pons (structuring))
- Buyer strategic DD: Bain & Company (Daphné Vattier, Andrea Gondekova, Paul Quipourt)
- Buyer financial DD: Alvarez & Marsal (Frédéric Steiner, Baptiste Rideau)
- Buyer ops DD: Alvarez & Marsal (Renald Bejaoui, Mehdi Tahri)
- Buyer legal & social DD: Latham & Watkins (Gaetan Gianasso, Michael Colle, Aymeric Derien-Akagawa)
- Buyer tax DD: Deloitte (Olivier Venzal, Jean-Christophe Teore-Boraschi)
- Buyer environment & ESG DD: Deloitte (Lauriane Marouze, Charlotte Bancilhon)
- Buyer digital DD: Singulier x Indefi (Rémi Pesseguier, David Toledano)
- Buyer insurance DD: Marsh (Jean-Marie Dargaignaratz, Clara Not)
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Robot-Coupe & Magimix
- Management: Gilbert Verdun, Marc de Sainte-Croix, Maxime de Jenlis, Patrick Mariani, Jean-Marie Lozano
- Vendor M&A advisors: BNP Paribas (Marc Walbaum, Sébastien Rebeix), Société Générale (Cyril Paolantoni, Marco Bessone)
- Vendor legal advisors: White & Case (Thierry Bosly, Thomas Glauden, Laure Bauduret)
- Vendor strategic DD: Roland Berger (Stéphane Tubiana, Louis Chupin)
- Vendor financial DD: EY (Gilles Marchadier, Elsa Abou Mrad, François Estin)
- Vendor legal & social DD: EY (Frédéric Reliquet, Anne-Elisabeth Combes), De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés (Henri-Nicolas Fleurance, Jean-Christophe Amy), Stevens & Bolton
- Vendor tax DD: EY (Cédric Devouges), RSM (Leonid Khristoforov)
- Vendor environment DD: AECOM (Benoit Souffre)
ABOUT ARDIAN
Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $166bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,650 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian’s main shareholding group is its employees and we place great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our 1,050+ employees, spread across 19 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last.
ABOUT ROBOT-COUPE
Founded in 1961 in Burgundy, Robot-Coupe is the undisputed global market leader of premium benchtop equipment for professional kitchens. Its early success relied on innovation solutions, directly addressing the chefs’ needs for a robust, efficient, reliable, safe and easy-to-use product. Robot-Coupe has quickly expended globally leveraging its strong brand image associated with Made-in-France excellence in gastronomy, becoming the common name for professional food processors, while diversifying into other benchtop product categories (e.g. juicers, immersion blenders, etc.). The company is present in more than 130 countries where it serves more than 7,000 distributors and importers, with leading market shares in its core geographies (namely the US, France, Australia and the UK). Robot-Coupe is operating through a global footprint with three manufacturing and assembly sites located in France, the US, and Sweden.
ABOUT MAGIMIX
Created in 1971 leveraging Robot-Coupe’s expertise, Magimix focuses on premium small kitchen appliances for domestic use, with a clear leadership in food preparation equipment and coffee machines. Magimix offers a wide range of products consisting of food processors (notably its flagship product, the Cook Expert), blenders, juicers, co-branded coffee machines through a strategic long-term partnership with Nespresso, and other products (e.g. ice-cream machines, toasters, steamers). Primarily operating in France, the UK and the Netherlands, the company serves a diversified customer base of specialized retailers while benefitting from strong online presence.