SFE Group, founded in 2019 after the merger of three world leading OEM’s in the field of pipe fabrication tooling and machinery, has been selected by the sellers to pursue the development of the AXXAIR Group.
Founded in 1997 and based in Etoile-sur-Rhône, the Group is specialised in the design, manufacture and distribution of machines for cutting, facing, chamfering and orbital welding of thin tubes. Over the years, the company has diversified its range of products to provide a wide range of products, from cutting preparation to tube welding. Thanks to its know-how and its concern for the quality of its products, the machines developed by the Group are designed, manufactured and assembled in France. AXXAIR has a strong growth history and forecasts a strong growth potential for the coming years, due to the international dimension of the Group (subsidiaries in Germany, China, Korea and the USA).
Founded in 2019 and headed by Aidan TAGLIAFERRO, SFE Group is supported by four brands, B&B Pipe and Industrial Tools LLC, Mathey Dearman Inc, TAG Pipe Equipment Specialist Ltd and Pipe Purging Masters, and subsidiaries on four continents. The Group is supported by an American investment fund, The Gladstone Companies.
This operation allows SFE Group to benefit from important commercial synergies, to complete its international network and to integrate a player with know-how recognised on its market for its ability to develop new products, its technical knowledge and its high quality products.
Rozen and Frédéric LEGRAND, managing shareholders of the AXXAIR Group, declare: “We are delighted with this transaction with SFE Group, a leading manufacturer of quality tube welding equipment. Moreover, we are confident in the ability of this American Group, which is strongly established internationally and has a perfect knowledge of our business, to pursue the development of the AXXAIR Group in the coming years”.
Aidan TAGLIAFERRO, President and CEO of SFE Group, added: “We are delighted with the integration of AXXAIR Group into SFE. This operation, with a major player in its sector, will enable us to offer our distributor customers one of the best professional product ranges on the market, in the segment of tools and machines for orbital cutting and welding of tubes. In addition to our current subsidiaries, AXXAIR’s international locations will allow us to develop new markets thanks to a strong brand in Asia and Europe, with a nascent presence in the United States”.
The SODICA Corporate Finance team notes: “The strong reputation of the AXXAIR Group within its market has helped us to implement a competitive process with industrial buyers who were convinced by the Group’s expertise. This enabled the sellers to choose the best candidate according to their criteria”.
Actors
Sellers: AXXAIR Group (Frédéric LEGRAND, Rozen LEGRAND)
Buyers: SPECIALIZED FABRICATION EQUIPMENT Group (Aidan TAGLIAFERRO), The Gladstone Companies (Christopher LEE)
Advisors to the sellers
M&A: SODICA Corporate Finance (Philippe AZEVEDO, Félix LUTTIAU-SALMON)
Legal: NOTAIRES CONSEILS ASSOCIES (Ludovic GIRAUD, Angèle DI GIOIA), Bird & Bird (David MALCOIFFE, Pierre GUIGUE)
Advisors to the buyers:
Legal: DS Avocats (Thibaud FORBIN, Marc-Pierre STEHLIN, Pauline PONTIER, Aude BONNARD)
Financial due diligence: BDO France (Alban CABANIS, Guillaume BUSCAGLIA, Raphaël DUCHENE)