Leader Print Group continues to strengthen its geographical coverage through acquisitions. Backed by Odyssée Venture, the 37% shareholder since last year (see below), the large format digital printing company is closing the acquisition of its Lyon counterpart Sitep with its founder Philippe Duymedjian, who is leaving the company. The transaction was carried out by private sale. Founded in 1962 and employing 22 people, the acquired structure specialises in printing corporate communications and events media and decorating points of sale or vehicles. Its activity also includes the art printing services, as it originally worked on silver photographic prints. Working for clients in the Rhône-Alpes region, last year Sitep generated a turnover of 4 million euros, growing to an EBITDA margin of 20%. Emmanuel Denis, the president and majority shareholder of the Leader Print Group, will take over the operational management of the Lyon Group. Investments in production facilities are already planned in order to deal with the growth in orders.
Further acquisitions planned
The new owner is financing 3/4 of this acquisition transaction with the debt contributed by Bpifrance and Caisse d’Epargne and the balance in cash. Created from the merger between New Mediafab (Montpellier) and Studio 3b (Paris) last year (see below), the Leader Print Group supplies flags, posters, POS, signage and art photography. Its client portfolio includes agencies, advertisers, event specialists, SMEs and local authorities. The printing company is gearing its strategy towards acquisitions in a highly fragmented market context. After the entry into the capital of Odyssée Venture, it finalised the acquisition of Expocréative (Paris). “The Leader Print Group’s acquisition policy is geared towards either companies providing new techniques or those with a strong client base in a new region. France and neighbouring countries are in the targeted territories”, explains Simon Morin, manager at Pax Corporate Finance, the Group’s historic financial advisor. The acquisition of Sitep allows it to increase its turnover from 6 million euros to 10 million euros. Discussions for potential acquisitions in Europe are currently taking place.
