Eighteen months after Odyssée Venture acquired a stake in Leader Print Group, the large-format digital printer completed its fourth external growth operation. Just one year ago, it took over the activities of Paris-based Expocréative. The acquisition of Sitep, the leading printer in Lyon, allows it to extend its presence in France after Montpellier and Paris.
The Lyon-based company Sitep, generating €4 million in turnover, has been sold by its founder Philippe Duymedjian to the Leader Print group. This acquisition allows the buyer to establish a solid foothold in Rhône-Alpes, a region in which it previously had little presence, in line with the sector’s consolidation strategy, which was shared during the fundraising campaign with Odyssée Venture. Emmanuel Denis, Chairman of Leader Print Group, will take over the operational management of Sitep with the objective of investing in production facilities.
According to Enrick Gane, partner at PAX Corporate Finance, the acquisition of Sitep comes after more than two years of negotiations. The two managers had a shared vision of their business and the future of Sitep, which ultimately led to an operation that guaranteed the sustainability of the Lyon-based business.
Sitep is a highly renowned digital printer in Rhône-Alpes. Founded in 1962, the company supports its customers in printing media for institutional and event communication, as well as for fitting out sales outlets or vehicles. Originally a specialist in film photo prints, the company has successfully moved over to digital thanks to its original know-how and its top-of-the-range positioning, leading it to continue to offer art print services today. In addition, it offers installation services throughout France. Its customer portfolio, mainly in Rhône-Alpes, enabled it to generate €4 million in turnover in 2017.
The Leader Print group was created in April 2017 at the initiative of Emmanuel Denis, who grouped his interests in New MediaFab, Studio 3b and Adhéquat and then opened his capital to Odyssée Venture. As a specialist in various digital printing technologies, the group offers its customers high-quality, tailor-made products in all media and is a key player in institutional communication. It also provides flags, posters, POS, signage, or art photography. Its clients are agencies, advertisers, event specialists, SMEs and local authorities. The responsiveness, production quality and positioning of each of the group’s brands meet the needs of each type of customer. Indeed, the trend is towards small series customized according to geography, period or target audience. A few months after its capital increase, Leader Print acquired Expocréative, a specialist in stand design and roll-up production generating €1 million in turnover.
Accompanied by PAX Corporate Finance since the preparation of the fundraising, the group, which will exceed ten million euros in turnover in 2018, is simultaneously studying several targets throughout Europe. According to Simon Morin, manager at PAX Corporate Finance, these should make it possible to complete the group’s geographical coverage by focusing on proximity, but also to strengthen production capacity and offer new product categories.
The parties involved in the operation:
Purchaser:
LEADER PRINT GROUP, Emmanuel DENIS, ODYSSÉE VENTURE, Sébastien SASSOLAS, Alexandre SCHANNE
Target companies:
SITEP, Philippe DUYMEDJIAN, EXPOCREATIVE
Purchaser, Senior Investment Banker:
PAX CORPORATE FINANCE, Enrick GANE, Simon MORIN, Manuel MANAS
Purchaser, Business Lawyer:
P3B AVOCATS, Emmanuel BIDANDA, DTMV & ASSOCIES, Arnaud VAMBREMEERSCH, Jean-Baptiste BARSI, Marion CONSTANT
Assignor, Business Lawyer:
LEGIAVOCATS, Pierre MARTIN
Purchaser, legal DD:
P3B AVOCATS, Emmanuel BIDANDA
Investor, financial DD:
CROWE, Thomas CORBINEAU, Julien LATRUBESSE
