20 March 2025

The Verpack Group invites Crédit Mutuel Equity to its shareholder table

LBO

sector Industry

The Verpack Group, a player in luxury packaging, writes a new chapter in its history with Crédit Mutuel Equity

Customer Groupe Verpack

Counterparties Crédit Mutuel Equity

Crédit Mutuel Equity brings together all of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale's Private Equity activities: Development Capital, Transmission Capital, and Innovation Capital. Crédit Mutuel Equity supports entrepreneurs with equity at all stages of their business development—from seed stage to succession—providing the resources and time necessary to implement their transformation projects. Crédit Mutuel Equity unites over 350 entrepreneurs who share their convictions and questions within a true network of business leaders, offering each participant, regardless of the nature of their project, the benefit of the experience of others. By investing its own capital (€3.0 billion), Crédit Mutuel Equity finances companies' projects according to timelines tailored to their development strategies, both in France and internationally, including in Canada, the United States, Germany, and Switzerland.

A leading supplier to luxury brands, the family-owned Verpack Group, founded by Jean-Claude Viers in 1993 in Paris, has completed a managerial and shareholder transition process initiated four years ago. Stéphane Viers takes over as president of the group and holds the majority of voting rights in the newly created holding company. Crédit Mutuel Equity becomes a minority reference shareholder with 25% of the capital, alongside the key managers of the company. This LBO transaction allows Verpack to strengthen its growth by continuing its external growth strategy. Verpack generated over €42 million in revenue in 2019 and employs 450 people.

Ranked among the French leaders in the production of high-end cardboard boxes and cases, Verpack serves the most prestigious clients in the cosmetics, fragrance, leather goods, spirits, and luxury product industries. With four production sites in France and one in Tunisia, the company has substantial printing and shaping capabilities, while positioning itself on major social and environmental responsibility issues to support its clients in implementing more sustainable packaging solutions. This approach is also part of an overarching trend, as many clients have relocated their production to the group’s factories in recent years, benefiting from innovations and an unmatched level of service and responsiveness.

"This transaction marks a new era for our group, one of accelerated growth. It is the right moment for us to push our expertise and pool our resources in the service of welcome French manufacturing for our clients. In this regard, ethics, quality, safety, and of course the environment will be more than ever key values," explains Stéphane Viers.

Towards a new positioning

With the entry of Crédit Mutuel Equity, this transaction aims to support the group in its growth, its European expansion, and its future external growth operations. Verpack has primarily grown through successive acquisitions, including the purchase of Cartonnages Guillaume (Île-de-France) in 2000, CLP Packaging (Burgundy) from the American group Chesapeake in 2006, and Korus Packaging (Bordeaux) in 2013. It intends to continue this momentum, supported by its new shareholder. This transaction also completes the process the group began four years ago to establish a common brand and guide its various factories in standardizing their processes. The operation is backed by moderate debt, primarily provided by the historical banks, notably BNP Paribas and Caisse d’Épargne Île-de-France, co-arrangers, as well as Crédit du Nord and Société Générale. The financing also includes a specific line aimed at ensuring responsiveness for acquisitions.

"Proud to support this leading player in premium packaging in its managerial transition to support its development, we were impressed by its excellent French industrial tool, the relevance of its model, and its constant ability to innovate for a portfolio of prestigious clients, being a pioneer in CSR topics. The group's critical size and strong market position make it ideally positioned for external growth operations that we are eager to support," add Jean-Marie Giannettini and Jean-Baptiste Champeau, Investment Directors at Crédit Mutuel Equity.

PAX Corporate Finance thus strengthens its expertise in the printing, packaging, and POS (Point of Sale) sectors. The firm had recently advised on the LBO transactions of Formes & Sculptures and RC Concept (POS), as well as the acquisitions of Inessens (label printing) and Leader Print (Large Format Digital Printing).