Advised by ADVISO PARTNERS, the transaction facilitated the transfer of the family business, RIOU GLASS Group, France’s second-largest glass processing company, from founders Christiane and Pierre Riou to their children Christine Riou Feron, the current chairperson, and Nicolas Riou, Director. The transfer transaction also provided an opportunity to welcome FOR TALENTS on board as a minority shareholder to support the Group's development.
Founded in 1979 by Christiane and Pierre Riou, RIOU GLASS is a French family-owned mid cap company specialising in designing glass solutions and products to promote wellbeing, comfort and security for all. Currently managed by second-generation family member Christine Riou Feron, RIOU GLASS generates consolidated revenue of €220 million, making it a major European player helping to drive technological development in its sector thanks to its capacity to invest and innovate.
Operating both upstream and downstream along the production chain, RIOU GLASS manufactures and processes 100,000 tonnes of flat glass each year. It offers its customers a wide range of high added value glass products: from decorative and high-security glass to energy efficient eco-friendly insulation glazing, for the construction and transport sectors and other industries. Based in Honfleur (Calvados), RIOU GLASS has a network of 17 local industrial sites, with 16 in France and 1 in Italy, as well as international commercial reach spanning the Western European, Indian Ocean and North American markets. RIOU GLASS is a human-centred group that supports its 1,000 employees as they channel their talents through their daily work in order to grow and develop together in a sustainable, more caring world.
To support the business at this crucial stage in its development and give itself the financial support for its growth, the glass specialist decided to welcome on board FOR TALENTS, which has business transfer expertise, as a minority shareholder. The aim of this equity investment is to support the Group's growth through its “RIOU GLASS Verre 2025” strategic plan, led by Christine Riou Feron and implemented by all the group's employees. The process will involve consolidating the group's expertise and assets, investing to modernise and automate its plants and making acquisitions to expand its product range and improve its regional coverage.
Christine Riou Feron, Chairperson of RIOU GLASS - “I feel very moved and immensely proud of the work and entrepreneurial spirit that has driven my parents throughout all these years. Their commitment has benefited our family, but was also, above all, geared towards helping others, since at the outset they made the decision to keep the production of our glass products in France at all costs. At this symbolic juncture, I feel a great responsibility towards them, our 1,000 employees, and the third generation of our growing family”
Blandine Pessin Bazil, Partner in charge of the business transfer activity at FOR TALENTS - “The second-largest French company in its market, RIOU GLASS is a fine family-owned company, recognised for its energy efficient and eco-friendly glazing and its significant capacity for innovation. We are delighted to open a new chapter in the group's history alongside the Riou family, the management team and the employees of RIOU GLASS.”
Guillaume Capelle, Partner at ADVISO PARTNERS - “We are pleased to have supported RIOU GLASS’ founding family in this important stage in the Group’s history. Christiane and Pierre Riou have successfully passed on the Group to the second generation, Christine Riou Feron and Nicolas Riou. Christine Riou Feron taking the helm will breathe new life into the group as it implements the “RIOU GLASS Verre 2025” strategic plan, while helping new technological developments to gain momentum. The arrival of FOR TALENTS as shareholders will accelerate the Group’s growth, through an improvement in its industrial performance and targeted acquisitions in France and internationally. “