The companies belonging to the Sud Graphic group, which include Étiquettes de Provence in particular, are to merge with printing group Inessens, enabling it to expand its presence in the south-east of France and in the fragrance market.
Sud Graphic, formed in 1979, has established itself as a renowned printing company in Provence. Specialised in the printing of premium labels and fragrance blotters, the companies making up the Sud Graphic group cater for high-end customers. The company operating under the Sud Graphic name is based in Grasse. It caters essentially for the luxury goods and high-end cosmetics and fragrance markets and provides solutions to meet the wide-ranging needs of its customers. With its packaging solutions, fragrance blotters and accessories, it rounds out the activities of Étiquettes de Provence. This second entity has developed expertise at its Vallauris site in the printing of labels for the same customers as Sud Graphic, as well as in the high-end food and wine segments.
The acquisition of these two companies provides many advantages for Inessens, enabling it to establish a lasting foothold in the south-east of France, where it has only held a discreet presence until now. In addition to the €4 million in revenue that it will bring, Sud Graphic will galvanise the cosmetics and fragrance division formed from Inessens’ recent merger with Étiquettes Haas, through new product ranges.
This acquisition fits in with Inessens’ development strategy, which began with the merger of the Aset (Montreal in Aude) and Bidoit (Cognac) printing works, followed by the addition of new production sites with the acquisition of the Burgundy-based Roy printing works (Chassagne-Montrachet), together with the Roubey printing works (Orange), the creation of Digit Labels (Cadaujac) in 2015 and the merger with Étiquettes Haas and TLS Étiquettes (Fontainebleau) in 2019.
PAX Corporate Finance was the exclusive buy-side advisor in this deal, which involved identifying and negotiating with a large number of potential targets. The synergies between the two companies were identified a year ago. With this deal, PAX Corporate Finance is extending its sector coverage in high-end packaging and point-of-sale displays. Its work with Inessens in the past months echoes recent deals carried out for RC Concept (point-of-sale displays) and Leader Print Group (digital printing) in related sectors.
