Cornet Vincent Segurel advises The Reefer Group on its capital restructuring

This transaction is accompanied by the reinvestment of many long-standing shareholders and a significant increase in management’s stake, which now stands at 19% of the capital.

This capital restructuring marks a new stage in the development of The Reefer Group, which has a turnover of €420 million and employs 2,200 people. The transaction comes after a period of strong growth for the group, recently consolidated by two strategic acquisitions: Aubineau in 2024, followed by Paneltex in the United Kingdom, bringing production capacity to 9,000 vehicles per year.

Amundi Private Equity Funds, a leading investor since 2021, is selling its majority stake to a consortium comprising Arkéa Capital, Épopée Gestion, and the Crédit Agricole group (via Unexo, Idia Capital Investissement, and Crédit Agricole Normandie).

Bpifrance, Caisse d’Épargne, Normandie Capital, NCI, Normandie Participations, Ouest Croissance, Picardie Investissement, and Sodero are reinvesting alongside four new entrants: Alian Industries, Esfin Gestion, Entrepreneur Invest, and Volney Développement.

The management team, led by Damien Destremau, has significantly strengthened its position with 19% of the capital, up from 15% previously, and now includes more than 60 executive shareholders. An employee share ownership fund (FCPE) will also be set up to involve all employees.

A multidisciplinary team from the law firm Cornet Vincent Ségurel, led by Pierre Lamidon, partner, assisted The Reefer Group and the managers with the legal and tax structuring of the transaction and the implementation of the financing.

Participants

The Reefer Group: Damien Destremau (CEO)

Acquirers

• Arkéa Capital: Kévin Chaigneau, Eric Besson-Damegon, Alban Germain
• Unexo: Edouard Boulan, Pierre-Loïc Revol, Lauranne Bourvellec, Romain David
• Idia Capital Investissement: Nicolas Lambert, Céline Arsac, Alexandre Barbe, Jean Lebreton
• Caisse d’Epargne Normandie: Agnès Louvet
• Épopée Gestion: Yoann Malys
• Alian Industries: Julien Legrand
• Bpifrance Investissement: Matthieu Rabeisen, Sarah Leclerc, Vincent Stievenard
• Entrepreneur Invest: Marouane Bahri, Maxime Reynaud
• Esfin Gestion: Patrice Baticle, Nathan Czarnes
• NCI: Stéphane Kerlo, Laurie Périé, Fabien Moisan, Yoan Jeusselin
• Normandie Participations: Sandrine Petitjean
• Ouest Croissance: Olivier Philippon, Charline Bonnancy
• Picardie Investissement: Sébastien Longeaux, Christophe Cardon
• Sodero: Jean-Claude Cobat, Louis Blanchard
• Volney Développement: Fabien Poirier

Seller: Amundi Private Equity (Claire Chabrier, Frédéric Labia, Romain Rouge, Ghaiane Hamdadou)

Debt: Crédit Agricole de Normandie, CIC Nord Ouest, Arkéa Banque Entreprises et Institutionnels, Caisse d’Épargne de Normandie, Caisse d’Epargne Bretagne Pays de Loire, Banque Populaire Grand Ouest, BNP Paribas

Advisors

Lawyer for The Reefer Group and Managers:

– Corporate M&A: Pierre Lamidon, Aurélien Bourdais, Pauline Jolivet, Jade Guyader, Bleuen Geffray
– Tax law: Pierre Lamidon, Marie Javelle, Lucas Desiles, Léa Marquilly
– Structured finance: André Watbot, Aymeric Langanay, Robin Petit

Selling investors’ lawyers: McDermott Will & Schulte (Marie-Muriel Barthelet, Marcia Sousa Pereira, Grégoire Andrieux)

Lawyers for the acquiring investors: Claris Avocats (Manfred Noé, Antoine Gergoy, Arnaud Brun)

Lawyers for the lenders: Agilys Avocats (David Kalfon, Samy Ayad, Perrine Labrusse)

M&A advisor to the acquirer: Amala Partners (Jad Hariri, Damien Schaff, Paul Jaulin)

Legal, tax, and social due diligence: Lawderis avocats, EY law firm

Financial due diligence: Eight Advisory (Bertrand Perrette, Jean-Baptiste Blanco, Maxime Berlivet, Tristan Fraboule, Yoan Jeusselin)

Strategic due diligence: CP&A Corporate Finance (Pierre-Jean Heissat)

ESG Due Diligence: Oderis (Radia Benhallam)

Vendor Due Diligence: Oderis (Aurélien Vion, Maxime Girard, Benjamin Piquet, Pascal Henry)