(AOF) – The Egide Group and the American bank Amerisource Business Capital, one of the main independent providers of direct financing to small and medium-sized enterprises in the United States, announce today the signing of a financing agreement for an amount of $3 million. This financing on assets (ABL loans) finances the subsidiaries Egide USA and Santier, up to 1.5 million dollars each, on the basis of customer accounts and inventories of each entity.
Amerisource Business Capital used this new $3 million in funding to repay remaining lines of credit and long-term loans to Bank of California for a total amount of $2.66 million.
Combined with the $6 million Sales/Lease Back operation for the Cambridge building (MS, USA), Egide now has a healthy financial position that allows it to focus on pursuing its growth strategy on its existing and future markets.
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Growing market and price pressures
According to the SIA, global chip sales were $151.7 billion in the first quarter of 2022, up 23% year-on-year. Sales increased in all major regional markets and for all product categories. As global uncertainties, including the war in Ukraine and the health crisis, weigh on supply chains, demand for semiconductors continues to significantly outpace supply. Manufacturers Samsung and TSMC have announced that they will raise their prices, in a context where players in the sector have good leeway and benefit from increased bargaining power. However, wage increases and component prices could weigh on future performance.
Growth of the French market in value
According to the Gfk institute, the sector generated sales of 4.8 billion euros in 2021, up 2% compared to 2020. The product families that benefited from the best performance are in particular helmets and accessories as well as televisions. However, while the French consumer electronics market grew in value last year, it fell in terms of volumes (-2% with 51 million units sold). This trend can be explained by a move upmarket in products: Bluetooth speakers are more powerful or even televisions use more innovative technologies. Thus the development of technologies that improve image resolution (Oled, Qled, miniled) and the size of screens have caused an increase of more than 20% in the average price. Consumers are also looking for more sustainable products.