De Pardieu has advised the management of SPHERE, the European leader in sustainable household packaging, on its capital restructuring. For this transaction, Hivest Capital, an independent European private equity firm, has signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire a majority stake in the SPHERE group, alongside the Persenda family as well as the company’s managers and executive shareholders.
Founded in 1976, SPHERE is a French family-owned group, European leader in household packaging. The group manufactures and distributes a wide range of products for the consumer, professional and public sector markets: waste bags, collection bags, fruit and vegetable bags, freezer bags, cooking bags, reusable shopping bags, films and papers for food and non-food contact, aluminum trays and rolls, disposable tableware and containers for take-away food, etc.
With 15 production sites in Europe, including 7 in France, and an annual production capacity of 235,000 tons of films and bags, SPHERE achieved a turnover of around 800 million euros in 2023 and employs more than 1,600 people. This capital reconfiguration also enables the group to accelerate its ambitious development plan and strengthen its position as leader in its European markets, particularly through external growth transactions.
De Pardieu has advised the managers and executive shareholders of SPHERE with a team comprising Jean-François Pourdieu (partner), Hugues de Fouchier (counsel), Pierre-Alexis Biehler and Laura Delas (associates) on the corporate aspects, Anne-Laure Drouet (partner) and Pierre-Alexandre Pujol (associate) on the tax aspects and Alexandre Eberhardt (partner) on the competition law aspects.