Omnes has completed the buyout of Camerus Group which it has invested in since 2013. Omnes becomes a minority shareholder alongside Bpifrance and Siparex Mezzanine.
This refinancing deal allows Camerus Group to continue its ambitious organic development and external growth strategy. In this instance the Group has completed a build-up deal on Lign’Expo.
Camerus Group is one of the leading French furniture rental companies for trade fairs, conferences and professional events. With three locations in Paris, Lyon and Toulouse, the Group generated more than EUR16 million in revenues in 2018. It is the preferred partner for major trade fairs and events in France with a network of loyal top-tier clients, with recurring activity.
The market in France for organising trade fairs and exhibition centres was estimated at Group 7.5 billion euros in 2017. It hosts the largest trade shows and professional events in the world with a demand structurally superior to the offer. The French market is growing and still very fragmented. Camerus Group is a key player in France with a resilient business model, a tailor-made “one-stop-shop” offer to meet all the customer’s needs, a wide range of furniture and an excellent reputation.
Since acquiring Square in 2015, the Group’s ambition is to accelerate its development strategy throughout France while diversifying its activity and its clientele in the field of events. The Group thus favours external growth and the integration of companies with business synergies.
The acquisition of Lign’Expo fits with this approach. Located in Toulouse, Lign’Expo has established itself as a reference player in South West France. Its acquisition will consolidate the Group’s market share and integrate a new logistics platform. Camerus Group is strengthening its territorial network by opening up more widely to the Southern French market with access to Northern Spain.
Christine Atzemis, Chair of Camerus Group, says: “This new build-up allows us to firmly establish our positioning in the country and to set up synergies in order to best respond to the development of our customers and future partners.”
Fabrice Lemarchand, Investment Director at Bpifrance, says: “We are delighted to support management in this new development phase. We were fully convinced by the dynamism and quality of service at Camerus Group, as well as its ability to continue to grow while participating in the sector’s consolidation.”
Laurent Espic, Partner, responsible for Small Cap activity at Omnes, says: “We are delighted to continue the journey alongside Christine Atzemis and her team, who we have had an excellent relationship with for many years. The strategy of Camerus Group is ambitious and is based on identified growth drivers: organic growth through expanding the product catalogue or an active and selective policy of accretive and complementary build-ups. Our goal is to continue the development of the Group so that it reaches a critical size over the next five years.”
Clément Barbier, Investment Manager at Siparex Mezzanine, says: “At the heart of our investment philosophy, we are proud to be part of Camerus Group’s story; a leading SME with strong growth prospects. We have been particularly sensitive to the vision of CEO Christine Atzemis, who is successfully leading development that is balanced between organic growth and a measured buy & build strategy that we hope to help strengthen. “
