SG Capital Europe exits secondary buyout

French anti-trust authorities have cleared the sale of French transport group Joyau, by SG Capital Europe, to the German firm, Schenker. The value of the deal, which was first announced in October, was not disclosed.

Investing through its SG European Private Equity Partners Fund, SG Capital Europe acquired Joyau in 2000 via a secondary buyout from French private equity investor, Alpha Group. Alpha acquired the business from the Joyau family in May 1995, backing the then-CEO in an MBO. The company is based in the Vendee region of western France and has around 2,500 employees at 53 locations in France. The Joyau Group, which was acquired with retroactive effect to January 1, 2002, is one of the country’s top ten network operators in the field of time-definite consolidated shipments. Since SG Capital Europe bought the company its sales have increased from €140 million to €250 million, thanks to internal growth and 11 acquisitions.

These deals include the acquisitions of courier companies: Transports Wille, Transports Bonhoure and Transports Poydomenge, transport companies: TEE, Fret Occitan, Barbe, Merland, Trans-Normandie Transports and Societe Normandie Malissard Service, and the French freight operations of its rival, Gondrand.

For the time being, Schenker subsidiary Joyau will continue to operate in the market under its present name but will be fully integrated in the Schenker organisation. Groupe Schenker specialises in logistics and in road, maritime and air transport services. The group has a workforce of 33,000 worldwide and posts an annual turnover of €6.2 billion.