Cornet Vincent Ségurel advises Ofracar for its takeover by the Howden Group

Corporate Law – M&A – Private Equity

Press releases — 15 April 2024

Ofracar, the Normandy-based broker specialising in corporate risk, has just been taken over by Howden, a global insurance group based in London, which is continuing its expansion in France.

Founded in 1964 by Jean-Pierre Lecomte, Ofracar was previously run by Stéphane and Nicolas Lecomte, sons of the founder, and their partner Laurent Couturier. The Normandy-based company specialises in helping SMEs and SMBs cover their risks, with dedicated solutions for property damage and liability, vehicle fleets, transport and industrial accidents, as well as recognised expertise in the refrigeration sector through its Assurfroid brand.

The British insurance brokerage group, with sales of €2.8 billion, is taking over the entire capital of the Rouen-based broker. As a result of the deal, Nicolas Lecomte has been appointed head of Howden France’s cold insurance business , while Stéphane Lecomte and Laurent Couturier will manage the development of Howden’s business in Normandy.

Howden now employs 17,000 people in 55 countries, including 350 in France at 12 sites, and includes Ofracar’s €10 million turnover and 85 employees in three cities, Rouen, Rennes and Lyon. The Group is thus continuing its growth in France, following the takeovers of Théorème at the end of 2022, and the Marseille-based firms GTCA and CFC Consultants at the beginning of 2024.

A team from Cornet Vincent Ségurel, led by partner Alexis Marchand, assisted the sellers with all the legal aspects of the transaction.

Participants

Acquéreur : Howden Group (Nicolas Aubert , Éric Demange)

Cédants : Stéphane Lecomte, Nicolas Lecomte, Laurent Couturier

Conseils :

Cédants Avocat : Cornet Vincent Ségurel

Corporate : Alexis Marchand, Alexandra Thil, Ornella Costa-Henriques
Fiscal : Alfred Lortat-Jacob
PI / Commercial : François Herpe et Caroline Drujon d’Astros

Cédants Banquier d’Affaires / Conseil M&A : Deloitte Corporate Finance (Vincent Rapiau, Lucile Regnault, Nassif Kamal, Nicolas Nardelli)

VDD Financière : Deloitte Finance (Christophe Mazaud, Louise Permingeat, Mathys Beny)

Acquéreur Banquier d’Affaires / Conseil M&A : Financière de Courcelles (Michael Petit, Charles Delbarre)

Acquéreur Avocat : Eversheds Sutherland

Corporate : Catherine Detalle, Raphael Sendowski, Maxime Auzias
Fiscal : Philippe de Guyenro, Marine Cousin
Immobilier : Christophe Sciot-Siegrist , Mélody Pagès-Marouani , Margot Lacoste
DD Sociale : Nicolas Etcheparre , Miléna Manneval
DD IT : Emmanuel Ronco , Clémence Dubois Ahlqvist , Naomi Bellaich

Acquéreur DD Financière : PWC Deals (Hervé Demoy , Baptiste Delubac , Théo Lahousse)