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Largillière Finance advised Filpack, one of France's leading B2B distributors of packaging products and systems, in the sale of its contract packaging business to the French group Gestra, a specialist in contract packaging, labor logistics, routing and warehousing.

Filpack is a group specialized in primary and secondary packaging solutions for all players in the food and industrial sectors. The Group has become one of the leading B2B distributors of packaging products and packaging systems in France following the merger of regional SMEs Filpack and Univers de l'Emballage in 2015. The 350-strong Group achieved sales of nearly €165 million in 2023.

The contract packaging business is the Alsatian unit of the Filpack Group, located at Wihr au Val in the Haut-Rhin department. Operating in the packaging market, the business offers a premium co-packaging service to a variety of sectors, from the food and beverage to the pharmaceutical markets. The business also offers complete packaging design services, from project design to delivery, as well as specific packaging supplies and logistics.

Groupe Gestra, whose holding company is based in Raon L'Etape (88) and headed by Christophe Jacquot, is specialized in contract packaging, labor logistics, routing and warehousing. It is recognized for its expertise and its commitment to integration through work (ESS). In 2023, the group achieved sales of over €12 million.

In a contract packaging market that is constantly evolving in terms of reusable packaging and the acceleration of packaging solutions with the development of e-commerce, the Filpack Group's contract packaging business enjoys strong growth potential. To accelerate the development of this business and focus on distribution, the Filpack Group commissioned Largillière Finance to set up and manage a structured, tailor-made process. Thanks to its in-depth knowledge of this sector, the merchant bank was able to optimize the terms of the transaction with Gestra, which is taking advantage of this operation to strengthen its presence in the eastern part of France.

Philippe Godderis, CEO of Filpack, comments: “The Filpack Group's vocation is to focus on the distribution of packaging for the food industry in particular, and for industry in general. Our ECA business, which is very strongly established locally, is aimed at all sectors, from cosmetics to food and pharmaceuticals, and increasingly requires the know-how and expertise that the Gestra Group, as a packaging professional, will be able to provide to ensure its development. Largillière Finance was able to complete this transaction brilliantly and on schedule."

Stakeholders in the operation: