Valther assisted the ABEO group, one of the world leaders in sports and leisure equipment, in its acquisition of a 70% stake in Sodex

Valther assisted the ABEO group, one of the world leaders in sports and leisure equipment, in its acquisition of a 70% stake in Sodex, a French sports equipment manufacturer based in Vietnam.

A French company founded in 1991, Sodex set up in Vietnam in 2000 to develop industrial expertise in the manufacture of sports equipment - football goals, tennis nets, athletics hurdles and outdoor fitness equipment.

Sodex equipment is certified by the main international federations, including FIFA (football) and FIBA (3x3 basketball).

Sodex is based in Vietnam, with a manufacturing site employing almost 200 people. It capitalises on its recognised expertise to design and manufacture sports equipment that is both robust and innovative. The company exports its products to key markets such as South-East Asia and Oceania, and also has a logistics platform in Carpiquet, Normandy (France), dedicated to distribution in France and the rest of Europe, which accounts for 50% of its business. In 2024, Sodex generated profitable sales of €7.5m.

Sodex's presence in Vietnam is a lever for ABEO's industrial competitiveness, based on a strategic location at the heart of a fast-growing Asian market that benefits from numerous free trade agreements. This base will enable the Group to accelerate its international expansion, while strengthening its capacity to produce locally to meet the specific needs of its different markets.

With a strong industrial base, a strategic geographic footprint and a complementary product range, this merger is perfectly in line with the ABEO group's international development strategy, and opens up new growth prospects for Sodex's equipment combined with that of ABEO.

"This acquisition will enable us to accelerate our international development strategy in a promising market. Thanks to its industrial base in Vietnam and the complementary nature of its product ranges, Sodex will help to strengthen our competitiveness in Europe, broaden our product offering and better address Asian markets. We are delighted to welcome this expert and committed company to the Group, which will enable us to return to ABEO's historic strategy of combining organic and external growth", comments Olivier Estèves, Chairman and CEO of ABEO.

Terms of the transaction:

The acquisition is financed entirely in cash, using ABEO's existing cash and credit facilities.

The memorandum of understanding includes a cross put and call agreement for the remaining 30% of the share capital, based on performance in the first post-integration financial year.

Sodex will be consolidated from 1 June 2025.

Stakeholders:

Target: Sodex International

Sellers: Bouvot family

Purchaser: ABEO (Olivier Estèves, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Managing Director & Jean Ferrier, Deputy Managing Director)

Lawyer for the sellers: Acthemis (Ségolène Minard)

Purchasers' lawyer: Valther(Velin Valev & Christian Chudzik)

Investment bank for the sellers: Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance (Hubert Tuillier & Armand Saillour)

Due Diligence :

-                  Financial: BM&A (Aymeric Royer, Umberto Cravero, Alexis Thura)

-                  Legal, employment and tax: Lamy-Lexel (Benoit Oliveira, Valentine Fayette, Vincent Medail, Clothilde Herault, Pierre-Antoine Farhat, Emilie Hijos & Gaëlle Rosiaux)

 re-Antoine Farhat, Emilie Hijos & Gaëlle Rosiaux)