Fasken advised Desjardins in the acquisition of Groupe Majeau and all related real estate. The transaction included the acquisition of a control equity block in the following three flagship manufacturers: (i) Etalex Inc., specializing in the food sector and retail chains; (ii) Équipement Boni Inc., specializing in equipment for hardware and pharmacy retailers; and (iii) Produits de fil et de métal Formafil Inc., specializing in metal wire display cases and fittings for heavy-duty storage systems. The combination of these entities under SJM Group creates a 450-employee Canadian leader in innovative solutions for commercial fixtures and heavy-duty storage systems. The transaction will boost synergy among the three entities and is consistent with the expertise of the Group’s managers, who will continue to oversee operations.
Desjardins described this transaction as ground-breaking in that a new structure was designed to isolate operations in dedicated entities to allow the management to gradually regain control, while the ownership of the buildings was isolated in a separate vehicle wholly owned by Desjardins. This deal is particularly complex because of the innovative hybrid structure required to extract operations and buildings to allow different ownership and an equity incentive program for the management. Fasken’s expertise and creativity were required on both corporate and real estate fronts to create a structure matching the development objectives of Desjardins.
A Fasken team composed of Carl Bélanger, Kadiatou Sow,, Elias Retsinas, Alain Ranger, Ralph Aziz, Mathieu Renaud, Charles Wagner, and Raphaël Buruiana.
