OpenGate Capital Completes Sale of SMAC
April 25 2024 - 1:14PM
Business Wire
Five-year Transformation Period Prepares
Business for Next Phase of Growth
OpenGate Capital (“OpenGate”), a global private equity firm,
announced today that it has completed the sale of SMAC, a provider
of waterproofing and building envelope systems, to Compagnie
Financière Jousset (“CFJ”) and the SMAC management team. Terms of
the transaction were not disclosed.
SMAC was established in 1884 and has grown into a leader in the
French waterproofing and facades market. OpenGate acquired the
business in 2019 from Colas Group, a subsidiary of Bouygues SA.
Following the carve-out and stabilization of SMAC in the first
year of investment, OpenGate embarked on a three-prong approach to
sell the manufacturing (“Industrie”) business lines in 2020 and
2021 and achieved the following results:
- March 2021: Axter (membranes business) was sold to IKO
- April 2021: Skydôme (skylights business) was sold to
Kingspan
- January 2022: Résipoly (resins business) was sold to MAPEI
After the disposals of the Industrie business lines, SMAC was
then able to focus on its core “Travaux” (installation) business,
which had breakeven EBITDA at acquisition and, through the
implementation of key operational initiatives, reached €32+ million
by the end of 2023.
“SMAC is a great example of our highly collaborative
origination, M&A, and operations strategy in action,” said
Julien Lagrèze, Partner and Head of Europe at OpenGate. “I want to
thank our M&A team led by Fabien Marcantetti, Managing
Director, Xavier Lambert, Principal, and Damien Faujour, Senior
Associate; and our Operations team led by Marc Veillas, Managing
Director, and Stéphane Feldmann, Principal. I would also like to
acknowledge the invaluable contribution of the SMAC management team
for their efforts in achieving a full turnaround of the business.
We look forward to seeing SMAC’s continued growth as it embarks on
its next chapter with CFJ.”
SMAC’s CEO, Franck Davoine commented, “I would like to thank
OpenGate Capital for their trust and support since 2019 and
throughout SMAC’s evolution towards a solid, profitable, and
responsible business model. Over the years, the OpenGate teams have
worked alongside us and contributed to the achievement of our
strategic objectives and ultimately to our overall value creation.
Our ambition is to continue adapting our services to the changing
expectations of our customers while accelerating our position in
growing markets. We have a particular focus on environmentally
sensitive building projects which play a key role in the prevention
of global warming - an area in which SMAC is an important player.
SMAC’s vibrant growth prospects are evidenced by our plans to hire
more people that wish to participate in the energy transition and
create the future of energy efficient building envelopes.”
Frédéric Jousset, founder of CFJ added, “CFJ is proud to team up
with a 140 year old leader and innovator in the industry. With a
history spanning over three centuries, two wars, and a global
pandemic, SMAC has demonstrated outstanding resilience due to the
strength of its human capital, deep technical expertise, and a
great reputation among its peers for safety, quality, and
reliability. Upward and onward toward a billion in revenues, which
is our joint ambition with the management team for the group.”
About OpenGate Capital
OpenGate Capital is a global private equity firm specializing in
the acquisition and operation of businesses to create new value
through operational improvements, innovation, and growth.
Established in 2005, OpenGate Capital is headquartered in Los
Angeles, California with a European office in Paris, France.
OpenGate’s professionals possess the critical skills needed to
acquire, transition, operate, build, and scale successful
businesses. To date, OpenGate Capital has executed more than 40
platform acquisitions across North America and Europe. To learn
more about OpenGate, please visit www.opengatecapital.com.
About CFJ
CFJ is an investment holding company owned by Frédéric Jousset
and dedicated to Private Equity. Based in Luxemburg, CFJ invests
its own equity in industrial, services or technology companies with
solid fundamentals and strong growth potential.
CFJ closely partners with each management team to support their
vision and ambitious projects.
CFJ aims at creating value combined with positive human and
environmental impact through long-term capital, and in-depth
strategic and operational support to its portfolio companies.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240428622416/en/
OpenGate Media Contacts:
Prosek Partners Email: Pro-opengate@prosek.com
Alanna Chaffin Head of Investor Relations & Communications
Email: AChaffin@opengatecapital.com Telephone: +1 310-432-7000
OpenGate Origination Contact:
Joshua Adams Partner Email: jadams@opengatecapital.com
Telephone: +1 310-432-7000
CFJ Media Contacts:
Anne-Celine Lescop Head of Public Affairs & Communication
Email: acl@cfj.lu