Bois et Matériaux

Third largest building materials distributor in France with two networks: RéseauPro (general building materials), and Panofrance (timber panels and interior design products).

More than 12,000 trade customers in the residential market, evenly split between new-build and renovation projects. 135 branches and 2,098 employees.

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Acquired:

March 7, 2016

Transaction Type:

Cross Border, Corporate Carve-Out

Acquired from:

Wolseley Plc

Industry:

Building Products

Headquarters:

Rennes, France

Buyer:

Chausson Matériaux

Realized:

April 30, 2021

Transaction Highlights

In June of 2015, OpenGate Capital sourced the opportunity through its longstanding relationship with Wolseley plc, a multinational, building materials distribution company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. Wolseley is seeking to divest B&M in order to fulfill their strategy to withdraw all business activities from the French market.

Investment Merits:

Market-leading position: B2B distribution of building materials in France
Underperforming: EBITDA margin of 1%, below 4-5% industry benchmark
Operational improvements: Sales, footprint, suppliers, and inventory management
Opportunity to sell non-core business unit: De-risk invested capital

Value Creation

DivestedGuimier, a non-synergistic division, de-risking invested equity by 50%
Boosted sales through salesforce efficiency measures and enhanced sales management
Accelerated digital go-to-market approach and proprietary, big data pricing solution to enhance margins•Enlarged business territory through new branch development
Improved inventory efficiency through branch specialization and innovation
Reduced headquarters cost by elimination of functional redundancies and IT enabled process automation

Exit

Sourced by OpenGate through long-standing relationship with Wolseley Plc
On April 30th, 2021, Bois & Materiaux Was sold to Chausson Materiaux
61-month investment period
Grew EBITDA during investment period by approximately 10x