Sale of the FORESTA Group to Baudoin de Brosses

Paris, March 4, 2021 – TwinL, specialized in business disposals and acquisitions, advised Horatiu Pristavu and its coshareholders for the sale of the FORESTA Group in MBI to Baudoin de Brosses which has brought together a pool of investors consisting of BFC CROISSANCE and MERMOZ PARTICIPATIONS.

Founded in 1997, Foresta designs, manufactures and distributes for 20 years wooden equipment for the garden, around four categories of products: storage for gardens, life around the house, car side and plants and animals. The company stands out in its market thanks to the use of High Temperature Treatment (THT) technology, an innovative natural treatment that modifies the properties and appearance of wood by improving its durability and stability.
With a portfolio of more than 350 marketed products and around 100 reseller customers. Located on 3 production sites in France (NEVERS and VARENNES-SUR-ALLIER) where it employs 39 people and 1 site in Romania with more than 60 employees, the FORESTA group has an annual turnover of more than €13 million.
As a leading player in the shed and garden shed sector, the company is considered the leader on this wooden equipment according to a ranking established by Capital in 2020.
The acquisition of Foresta by Baudouin de Brosses, which has developed an expertise of more than 20 years in the management and direction of SMEs, particularly specialized in equipment and consumer goods, and the new investments will allow the company to continue to design and develop new products, strengthen its distribution channel, consolidate its leadership and image and activate new growth levers, to meet the challenges of the sector and customer demands.
This strategic operation is carried out in a specific context for a market that is particularly impacted by global warming, ecological concerns and the health crisis.

The TwinL team was tasked by the FORESTA Group executive and shareholders to ensure the overall management of the disposal process: for this mission, TwinL approached the main market players in France and Europe before completing the discussions and negotiation of the agreements with SIGNADILE which advised Baudouin de Brosses.

Baudouin de Brosses is excited about this new adventure : « I am very pleased to take over the Foresta group today. I was ideally looking for a dynamic SME, located near our family home, operating in the consumer goods/ small capital goods sector, benefiting from recognized know-how, an expert team and an international presence. Foresta is all this and much more, and it is a wonderful opportunity to invest in this great company in order to accompany it in the years to come to write a new page of its growth. I particularly thank Horatio Pristavu, the founder, for whom I have great admiration. Starting from scratch, he was able to develop a €13m group of turnover in a very competitive environment with a lot of intelligence, innovation and pragmatism. I am proud to have convinced him to reinvest with me. His expertise will be a key factor in the success of this project. We will be vigilant that the handover is done in respect of the history of the company and its teams.
Foresta is in a strong growth dynamic (+20% of turnover in 2019), reinforced by the home-home behaviours generated by the health crisis (+40% of turnover in 2020), which has not failed to pose a number of operational challenges to Mr Pristavu in recent months. Immersing myself in the daily life of the company and continuing to meet these challenges will be my short-term priorities.”

Horatio Pristavu, will remain active within Foresta, particularly on the aspects of production management and communication with the production unit in Romania.

As an investment bank dedicated to business leaders in the €5 to €50 million segment, TwinL offers its expertise to SMEs-SMIs seeking to carry out a balance sheet transaction (Sale-Acquisition-LBO-OBO, etc.) in France or internationally through its M&A Transnational network and has been built, in 15 years of existence, a solid reputation among business leaders.