Valther assists ABEO in the acquisition of ELI Play

Valther assists ABEO in the acquisition of ELI Play, one of the European leaders in playgrounds and trampolines, to accelerate its momentum in Sportainment.

ABEO, a world leader in sports and leisure equipment, acquired 70% of the capital of the Dutch company ELI Play, a leading player in Europe in the design, manufacture and installation of indoor leisure equipment such as playgrounds, trampolines and Ninja courses.

Founded more than 25 years ago and based in Boxtel (Netherlands), ELI Play has established itself as a key partner in Europe, with profitable sales of €22m in 2024 and more than 2,500 projects completed across Europe. The company employs around 60 people and has sales subsidiaries in its main markets, France and Germany.

This operation is a major step in ABEO's development strategy. It consolidates ABEO's position in the fast-growing Family Entertainment Centers (FEC) segment, and opens up new prospects for international growth.

Highly leveraged commercial, industrial and technological synergies will be rapidly put in place. In particular, the acquisition will provide for:

-                  A richer offering thanks to the complementary nature of ABEO's ranges (BigAirBag, Clip'n'Climb and Fun Spot) with those of ELI Play;

-                  Increased commercial strength in the strategic Sportainment segment, thanks to strengthened engineering and greater capacity to address key accounts;

-                  Optimised purchasing and use of existing production capacity without heavy investment, with greater sharing of design, manufacturing and installation expertise;

-                  Large-scale deployment of the interactive innovations developed by ELI Play via ABEO's international network.

Olivier Estèves, Chairman and CEO of ABEO, said: "The acquisition of ELI Play is fully in line with our strategy of growth and consolidation in the future segment of Sportainment. It also strengthens our position in Europe, where our presence in this segment is growing. The complementary nature of our offerings, the expected synergies, and Fun Spot's new strategy, which is well under way, provide us with a unique dynamic to accelerate our development in a fast-growing market."

Terms and conditions 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 option agreement for the remaining 30% of the share capital, based on the performance of the first financial year following the integration.

ELI Play will be consolidated from June 2025.

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Stakeholders:

Target: EL-Industries Holding B.V.

Sellers: Jos van der Heijden Beheer B.V. and Verstappen Control B.V.

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

Lawyers for the sellers: Vigor Advocaten (Stijn Hoppenbrouwers)

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

Merchant bank for the sellers: De Beemd Corporate Finance (Laurent Degroote)

Due Diligence :

-                  Financial: BDO (Reza Joomun, Charlotte Bonny, Nicolas Quartier)

-                  Legal, employment and tax:

o   France: Valther (Velin Valev, Julia Hazael, François Bohrer for employment law aspects)

o   Netherlands: Stek (Elias Ram, Koen Groeneveld, Harry Stamps)

o   Germany: Schiedermair (Jörg Swoboda, Alexandra Ulmers)