26 Nov 2018

Stella is the leader in the French roller shutter market, as well as in metallic grills and curtains for store protection. The company, which serves over 10,000 clients, operates across five brands: La Toulousaine, with respect to garage doors, sectional doors, gates, grills and shutters, and Profalux, Eveno, Sofermi and Flip, in roller shutters, venetian blinds and garage doors. Stella is expected to achieve a turnover of €230 million in 2018, including the acquisition of Flip, which closed in October.

PAI intends to support the current management team in its plans to grow the business further, both organically and through acquisition.

The acquisition will be the second investment made by PAI Europe VII, which held its final close at €5.1 billion in March 2018 after less than three months of active marketing. PAI Europe VII made its first investment in July 2018 with the acquisition of Asmodee, a world leading international games publisher and distributor.

Didier Simon, CEO of StellaGroup commented: “After a period of significant growth in France over the past decade, we were looking for a financial partner able to help us to accelerate our international development, respectful of our values, and supportive of the acquisition plan of StellaGroup. We look forward to working with PAI to deliver the next phase of our growth story.”

Mathieu Paillat, Partner in PAI’s General Industrials sector team, commented: “PAI Partners is delighted to become the majority shareholder in Stella alongside the management team and ICG. Our common goal is to reinforce Stella’s position as a leader in the French market, while also pursuing new growth opportunities in Europe. We strongly support the management team as it aims to deliver this new phase in the company’s international development.”

Hadj Djemai, Head of Southern Europe at ICG, commented: “We have been delighted to be a partner of StellaGroup’s management since 2015. During this period, the group has developed very well both organically and through acquisitions. We are reinvesting alongside the management and PAI Partners, as we are convinced there remains very significant growth potential.”

The relevant employee works councils of Stella will be consulted in respect of the transaction and completion of the transaction will be subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions precedent.