Restructuring of the shareholder base of Attis 2, the parent company of the Gascogne group

Founded in 1925 in the heart of France’s Landes forest, Gascogne is an industrial corporation that is integrated across the entire wood, paper, and packaging value chain. While being the top multi-speciality player in France for wood processing, the Landes-based company is also the world’s number-one producer of natural, machine-glazed kraft paper, the third top European producer of paper bags for industry and general retail, and is one of the top European manufacturers of multilayer complexes for packaging and protective products, particularly for the food sector. The company generated turnover of € 460 million in 2022 and has 1,700 employees.

Acquired in 2014 by the holding company Attis 2, structured around Biolandes Technologies and its founder, Dominique Coutière, with support from IDIA Capital Investissement, Bpifrance, and DRT (Dérivés Résiniques et Terpéniques), Gascogne (whose stock is traded on the Euronext Growth™ Paris market) announced on 22 March 2023 a change in the shareholder base of Attis 2, which owns 70.60% of the share capital and holds 77.52% of the voting rights of Gascogne.

The change in the Attis 2 shareholder base was carried out with support from Biolandes Technologies, IDIA Capital Investissement, and the entry of a new investor: Crédit Mutuel Equity. The transaction was part of a strategic manufacturing investment plan worth € 330 million, with Gascogne planning to replace all of its existing equipment with new kraft paper machines at a cost of € 220 million in response to future economic and environmental challenges.

Indeed, following the decision by the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) to dismiss a case trying to force Gascogne to sell shares on the public market, on 15 March 2023, DRT and Bpifrance sold all of their shares in Attis 2 to Biolandes Technologies, IDIA Capital Investissement, and Crédit Mutuel Equity, a new shareholder in Attis 2. The restructured shareholder base had no impact on Attis 2’s direct ownership of Gascogne, which remains unchanged, and did not raise any issues for the listing of Gascogne stock on the Euronext Growth Paris market.

“This transaction, which came at a crucial phase in the development of the Gascogne group, has given Attis 2 a shareholder base that’s ready to support the group’s future investments. It fits into the company’s dynamic of projects oriented towards the future and international growth, while preserving jobs and industrial assets in the Landes region. The entry of Crédit Mutuel Equity into the shareholder base alongside IDIA Capital Investissement will ensure stability in the business over the long term,” explains the group’s chairman, Dominique Coutière, who wanted to surround himself with financial partners that share the same vision.“The new invest plan, whose keystone is the purchase of new paper-making machines, aims to make production more reliable, strengthen the company’s competitiveness, and reduce operating costs, particularly thanks to better management of resource flows (water and energy use, etc.)”, he adds.

The Gascogne group relies on four complementary business lines (wood, paper, bags, and flexible materials) grouped into two divisions (wood and packaging), allowing the company to address a diverse set of markets along a continuum of activities, from forest thinning to the manufacturing of bags and technical, complex papers.

Entirely integrated, from forest management support to the delivery of processed products from its centralised warehouse, the wood division targets the home-building and decoration, packaging, industrial woodworking, and green chemistry markets. The packaging division groups together the manufacturing of paper, bags, and complex materials combining paper, plastic, and aluminium, particularly intended for food packaging.

The manufacturer generates over 50% of its sales from exports, including 36% within the European Union. Today, Gascogne is present in 70 countries and has nine production sites, of which five are in France.

As the leading kraft paper producer in Europe, the Gascogne group has enough capacity to produce 120,000 tonnes annually, in a total market representing 400,000 tonnes. Heavily invested in preserving resources, Gascogne works with sustainable, locally-sourced raw materials from the Landes forest, a renewable, environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and compostable natural resource.

“The purchase of a next-generation paper machine will solidify the manufacturer’s position as the world leader in the natural kraft paper segments for the packaging and industrial markets. Additionally, this investment aimed at consuming less water and energy will make Gascogne a leader in its industry in terms of reducing its carbon footprint. We are delighted to support Dominique Coutière and his teams in this new phase of growth, which will simultaneously preserve jobs in the Landes region and secure a major investment in this industry, while doing what’s needed by putting the business on track to reduce its carbon emissions”, says Antoine Arlet, Director of Equity Investments at Crédit Mutuel Equity.

About Crédit Mutuel Equity:

Crédit Mutuel Equity is home to all of the Private Equity activities of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale: Capital Développement (Capital Development), Capital Transmission (Capital Transfer), and Capital Innovation.

Crédit Mutuel Equity provides capital support to business leaders at all stages of development of their companies—from start-up to transfer—by giving them the resources and time required to implement their transformation projects. Crédit Mutuel Equity brings together over 350 business leaders, who share their beliefs and pose questions within a true network of entrepreneurs that allows each member, regardless of the nature of their project, to benefit from the experience of others. By investing its own capital (€ 4 billion), Crédit Mutuel Equity finances companies’ projects with timelines that are adapted to their growth strategies, in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Canada.

For more information: www.creditmutuel-equity.eu

About Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale:

A leading French bank and insurance company, with over 75,000 employees and serving over 29 million customers, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale offers a range of services to individual customers, local professionals, and companies of all sizes, via its 4,500 points of sale. Among the most solid banking groups in Europe, its equity capital amounted to € 53.2 billion and its CET1 ratio stood at 18.8% on 31 December 2021.

Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale brings together the Crédit Mutuel banks of the following federations: Centre Est Europe (Strasbourg), Sud-Est (Lyon), Île-de-France (Paris), Savoie-Mont Blanc (Annecy), Midi-Atlantique (Toulouse), Loire-Atlantique et Centre Ouest (Nantes), Centre (Orléans), Normandie (Caen), Dauphiné-Vivarais (Valence), Méditerranéen (Marseille), Anjou (Angers), Massif Central (Clermont-Ferrand), Antilles-Guyane (Fort-de-France), and Nord Europe (Lille).

Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale also includes the Caisse Fédérale de Crédit Mutuel, the Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel (BFCM) and all its subsidiaries, notably CIC, Euro-Information, Assurances du Crédit Mutuel (ACM), TARGOBANK, Cofidis, Banque Européenne du Crédit Mutuel (BECM), Banque de Luxembourg, Banque Transatlantique, and Homiris.

More information is available at www.creditmutuelalliancefederale.fr

About IDIA Capital Investissement

IDIA Capital Investissement brings together the France-based, minority-stake private equity activities of the Crédit Agricole group, supporting SMEs and mid-size companies from all different business sectors with renowned expertise in the food, wine, and energy transition industries. IDIA Capital Investissement also monitors investments made by Crédit Agricole S.A. in specific funds. The funds managed by IDIA Capital Investissement represent a total of € 2 billion. The company targets investments of between € 1 million and € 50 million. IDIA is a portfolio management company accredited by the AMF under number GP-15000010.

For more information: www.ca-idia.com

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