- Bidders include PE firms, private investors
- Vendor advised by Rothschild & Co, seeks circa EUR 50m offer
- Target has 3,000 staff, EUR 250m in sales
Groupe Rocher, a France-based privately-owned cosmetics specialist, has received several offers for Petit Bateau, its fashion subsidiary specialised in children’s clothing, news portal Mergermarket reported, without citing its source.
Bidders include PE firm Verdoso, a specialist in restructuring, Michael Flacks’ investment company Flacks Group, as well as businessman Salih Halassi (CEO of Pimkie), in partnership with Ramdane Touhami, co-founder of the cosmetics brand Buly, and Charles-Henri Levailant, the former CEO of the cosmetics brand Make Up For Ever, who would be backed by unidentified Chinese and Brazilian investors, the report said.
The piece claimed that the Mulliez family, the owners of several retail businesses (Auchan, Decathlon, Jules, Besson, Pimkie, Phildar, etc.) could be interested, while US children’s clothes retailer Carter’s was also mentioned as a possible following up.
Groupe Rocher, who appointed M&A advisor Rothschild & Co earlier this year to carry out the disposal, intends to obtain several tens of millions of euros from the sale, the article noted.
A source close to the situation said the sale valuation of Petit Bateau amid this recovery would approximate a total cost of around EUR 50m, while others indicated EUR 20m investment was more likely, the report indicated.
Petit Bateau has 3,000 employees worldwide and generated sales of EUR 250m in 2024, with a negative EBITDA, the report mentioned.
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