Transactions

The STEP Group is a fully integrated French industrial group specialising in wood and metalworking for industry and shopfitting. The Group is made up of four companies with complementary expertise:

• STEP, manufacturer of metal furniture, primary parts, sub-assemblies for industry (automotive, rail, energy, etc.) and industrial subcontractor
• FC2AA, a manufacturer of wooden furniture and made-to-measure fittings
• RASEC AMÉNAGEMENT, manufacturer of check-out furniture and specialised furniture for points of sale (supermarkets, hypermarkets, pharmacies, luxury goods shops, etc.)
• RASEC BELGIUM, distributor of RASEC AMENAGEMENT products in Belgium.

The Group has four production sites in France, located close together geographically, enabling strong industrial synergies and limiting the use of external subcontractors.

The STEP Group, which achieved consolidated sales of nearly €35m in 2022, counts among its regular customers nationally and internationally renowned names in the retail, automotive, rail, banking and luxury sectors.

HESTIA (through its current subsidiaries CJS, GVA and Baltys), a specialist in equipment and fittings for sales and service outlets, designs products through its integrated design studio, manufactures furniture in its current 5 production plants, and also has the capacity to carry out fittings work (TCE).HESTIA positioned itself as part of the competitive process put in place by Societex Corporate Finance.

This merger will enable HESTIA, and its CEO Jean-François Lendais, to continue its strong development, notably through external growth, to significantly strengthen its industrial presence in France with 9 production plants, and to benefit from greater synergies between the different entities.

“Following a recommendation from an industrial friend, I turned to Societex to help me sell my entire group of 4 companies. Having never sold a company before, Societex first of all provided me with their expertise on the various issues involved in a sale. They played their role of facilitator between the transferee and the transferor to perfection. I liked their very human approach to the transaction, which can sometimes appear to be nothing more than a financial operation: above all, their support made the sale a success. I would like to thank the entire Societex team for their professionalism, approach, exchanges and pertinent advice. I would like to make a special mention of Mr Clément Matelot for his unfailing support, expertise and availability at all times throughout the process.” Vincent MOREL, CEO STEP Group

Advisors :

Sell-side:

• M&A Advisor : Societex (Krzysztof GIECOLD, Thomas BEAURAIN, Clément MATELOT, Amaury PERDRIAU)
• Corporate lawyers : Lerins (Laurent JULIENNE, Eve MAILLET)

Buy-side:

• Corporate lawyer : Cygler Avocats (Steve CYGLER, Amélie MILLET)
• Financial audit : Accuracy (Stéphane PERROTTO, Aomar ELALAMY, Majda KHOUBBACH)