RDM Group Agrees to Sell Its 100% Interest in La Rochette Cartonboard Mill in France
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The Board of Directors of RDM Group favorably assessed an irrevocable offer received by its subsidiary RDM Blendecques S.A.S. for the purchase of its 100% interest in R.D.M. La Rochette S.A.S., a cartonboard mill in France.
In the irrevocable offer, La Rochette’s enterprise value has been set at EUR 28.8 million, plus an earnout equal to 25% of EBITDA in excess of €7.2 million in each of the financial years 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The offer was submitted by Bonaparte Holding SAS, a company under French law controlled by Mutares SE & Co. KgaA, an investment holding listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange and specialized in the acquisition of medium-sized companies.
Thusly, RDM Blendecques [on Feb. 16] signed a put option agreement to sell R.D.M. La Rochette.
The La Rochette mill produces virgin fibre cartonboard for folding boxboard (FBB) and has the capacity to produce 165,000 tons per year. The mill operates with two paper machines and can produce a wide range of products of different grammages.
RDM Group's CEO, Michele Bianchi, said with the sale of the mill, RDM will exit the virgin fibre FBB business and focus on the company's recycled fibre board grades, such as its White Lined Chipboard (WLC).
"By accepting the irrevocable offer for the purchase of La Rochette, RDM Group has taken the opportunity to exit from the FBB business, the segment of cartonboard for folding boxboard based on virgin fibers," Bianchi said.
"Compared to when it was acquired by RDM in 2016, the profitability of La Rochette plant has increased, also thanks to the operating efficiencies achieved in these years and our team's management effort. However, reaching an operating profitability in line with the average rate of the other assets in our portfolio would require further significant capital expenditures.
"By exiting from this segment, RDM Group will effectively unlock resources and managerial energies to increase its focus on the current growth and consolidation path," Bianchi explained.
"Through the integration of the most recent acquisitions Barcelona Cartonboard and Paprinsa, the closing of which is expected to take place in the coming weeks, we are working to strengthen our leadership in the WLC market," Bianchi concluded.
