Equistone to Acquire Bruneau

Andy Braithwaite reports
Bruneau sale moves closer

The prospects of leading French office products reseller JM Bruneau changing hands now seem a formality after private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe said it has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire the business.

As revealed at the beginning of July, Bruneau’s owner Weinberg Capital Partners had begun to explore its strategic options for the company it acquired at the beginning of 2015. Now, Equistone says it is exclusive negotiations with Weinberg for the acquisition of the reseller. No financial details or a timeframe for the transaction were provided, but the deal remains subject to regulatory approval and consultation with employee representative bodies.

Equistone partners Grégoire Châtillon and Grégoire Schlumberger commented: “We were attracted to Bruneau by the strength of its business model and the quality of its management team. We are looking forward to supporting further development of the group’s core business, as well as to considering other market segments and strengthening its international presence.”

Bruneau Managing Director Nicolas Potier added: “We would like to thank Weinberg Capital Partners for its support and guidance during its investment period and are now very much looking forward to partnering with Equistone. We will benefit greatly from Equistone’s European network and ability to support our organic and acquisitive growth.”

Bruneau has operations in France, Belgium and Spain and its sales in 2016 were around $312 million ($366 million). Based to the south-west of Paris, the reseller employs some 750 staff.

Equistone is one of Europe’s leading mid-market private equity firms with offices in the UK, France, Germany and Switzerland.

In September 2016, it took a majority stake in managed print services firm Apogee and since then has supported the company in a number of investments, including the takeover of Danwood in March of this year.

Related: WEINBERG TO SELL BRUNEAU TO EQUISTONE

31 July