SBGC shareholders look to Eversheds Sutherland in sale of majority stake to Advent International

Eversheds Sutherland has advised the shareholders of longstanding client, Sprecher Berrier Group of Companies (SBGC), on its sale of a majority stake in Parfums de Marly and INITIO to Advent International, one of the largest private equity investors in the world.

Parfums de Marly was founded by Julien Sprecher, inspired by his passion for the splendour of 18th century France, an era which is widely regarded as the golden age of perfumery. The brand encapsulates the temporal duality of heritage and modernity, with a focus on authentic and quality perfumery that honours French perfumery savoir-faire.

INITIO masters the power of scent through singular and functional fragrances that trigger an emotional and physiological response. A new perfume dimension to access another dimension of the being.

The Group has grown rapidly to become a leading niche perfumery house in the attractive niche luxury fragrance segment, which represents the fastest-growth area within the sizeable ~$60bn global fragrance market, and benefits from high levels of customer loyalty and resilience. The Group is truly global with a strong presence in the US, Europe and the Middle-East.

Jointly led by Partners Eric Knai, Head of M&A (International) and Catherine Detalle, Head of Consumer Sector, the multijurisdictional Eversheds Sutherland team advised on all corporate and commercial elements of the deal from a highly competitive auction process involving multiple bidders, and complex legal regulations in key jurisdictions, to final completion of the transaction.

The global law firm’s core team comprised: Senior Associates Aurore Lacroix and Raphaël Sendowski and Associate Rémi Mandet (all France).

Wider support was provided by Partners Dan Roskis, Sindhura Swaminathan, Emmanuel Ronco, Philippe de Guyenro, Déborah Attali (all France), Amanda Partland, Ben Jones, Chris Hastings and James Lindop (all UK), Zeid Hanania and Lisa Bryson (both UAE), Rafael Moll de Alba (Luxembourg), Holger Holle (Germany), Xenia Garofalo, Robert. E. Copps and Joshua Shapiro (all US), Legal Director Luis Aguerre (Luxembourg), Principal Associates Thomas Strange, Nicolas Etcheparre (both France), Steve Jennings, Omar Al-shomali and Noor Al Heialy (all UAE), Mike Birkett, Russell Naglis, Thomas Plant and Monika Zejden-Erdmann (all UK), Senior Associates Benjamin Shem-Tov and Alistair Stark (both UK), Associates Julie Poivey, Clémence Dubois Ahlqvist, Edmond Percheron, Marine Cousin (all France), Hammad Naveed (UK), Todd Ryan (UAE), Myrto Archontaki, Jean-Raphael Julien (Luxembourg), Hasnain Valika, Evan Johnson and Dylan de Fouw (all US).

Eric Knai, Partner and Head of M&A (International), Eversheds Sutherland, commented:

“We are delighted to have advised SBGC and its shareholders on this transaction. It was a complex deal spanning across several jurisdictions and the Eversheds Sutherland teams across the globe delivered yet another great result for our client”. ”

Catherine Detalle, Partner and Head of Consumer sector, Eversheds Sutherland, commented:

“The global luxury consumer sector remains on an upward trajectory and in turn, a competitive space to do business. We’re thrilled to have been able to take advantage of such positive market conditions and draw on our legal and sector know-how to secure the best result for SGBC.”

Julien Sausset, CEO of SBGC, commented:

“This was a large, complex, transaction spanning five different jurisdictions. It was therefore vital we have a legal team with strong multijurisdictional, cross-border M&A experience, underpinned by  technical excellence across various specialisms and an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the luxury consumer sector. Eversheds Sutherland proved invaluable, working seamlessly to deliver the very best outcome. We look forward to working with them on future opportunities.”

Advent will leverage its considerable experience within the consumer and beauty sector to support the management team’s ambition to accelerate international growth and strengthen the Group’s omni-channel strategy.

Advent was advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.