2MX Organic, the listed company of the three businessmen, and InVivo Retail, the distribution activity (Gamm Vert, Jardiland, etc.) of InVivo, announced on Friday the conclusion of “a definitive merger agreement”
The listed company of the trio Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse and Moez-Alexandre Zouari, 2MX Organic, and the distribution activity (Gamm Vert, Jardiland, etc.) of the agricultural cooperative InVivo announced on Friday the conclusion of “a definitive merger agreement“to bring out a”European leader in responsible distribution“.
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The trio and InVivo announced in a joint press release the “business combination noticeplanned in the statutes of Spac (special purpose acquisition company) of Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse and Moez-Alexandre Zouari, an empty shell financial vehicle, already listed, which merges with an existing company. InVivo will be the majority shareholder “with at least 59.76%of the capital of the new company, valued at approximately 1 billion euros. The industrial founder of Free Xavier Niel, the financier Matthieu Pigasse and the distribution specialist Moez-Alexandre Zouari, a major franchisee of the Casino group and shareholder of the frozen food group Picard, launched 2MX Organic at the end of 2020, with the aim of bringing out a “leader in sustainable consumption“.
1,600 points of sale for InVivo in France
With InVivo, the second agricultural group on the European continent with a turnover of 10 billion euros, they wish to launch “a new store concept» under the sign «Le Grand Marché – Fresh from here», specializing in the food distribution of fresh and local products, backed by existing garden centers in the InVivo Retail portfolio. InVivo Retail has 1,600 points of sale in France, 220 of which are directly owned, under the garden center brands Gamm Vert, Jardiland, Delbard, Jardineries du Terroir, pet store Noa, and food distribution brands Frais d’Ici and Bio&Co. There “securing supplies” of the new stores will be done via the “network of InVivo member cooperatives“, had previously specified the two partners.
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This rapprochementprovides a solid growth trajectory, with InVivo Retail’s revenue increasing from €867 million in 2021 to around €1.2 billion in 2025“, they estimated on Friday. Following the business combination, which should take the form of a contribution in kind from InVivo to 2MX Organic, the distribution activity of the InVivo group would become a “100% subsidiary of 2MX Organic» and the cooperative group would therefore be the majority shareholder of the whole “with at least 59.76%of the capital of the new company, valued around 1 billion euros. A general meeting of Spac 2MX Organic shareholders is scheduled for July 29, to “approval of the contribution of its valuation and the resulting capital increase“. This project is subject in particular to InVivo obtaining an exemption from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) from the obligation to file a mandatory public offer, the group “holding by the simple mechanism of the contribution in kind of InVivo Retail shares more than 30% of the capital and voting rights of 2MX Organic“.
“Less but better”
“We have entered a time when we want to consume less but better, where the customer is looking for quality products with a pleasant in-store experience. “, explained Thursday Moez-Alexandre Zouari in the aisles of the Maurepas store, freshly renovated, and which previously achieved 17 million euros in annual turnover on 1,500 square meters. Staff in number – 60 to 65 employees -, some of whom challenge customers to report good deals, important choices – “Note the 14 varieties of tomatoes! “-, greengrocers, cheese, bakery, fishmonger, poultry or even well-stocked and appetizing butcher-charcuterie…”Mass distribution today only exists through price, I think there is an alternative where people are central, even if it comes at a price. Here we have a clientele that is delighted to consume better “, even if the receipt suffers from it, estimated the entrepreneur.
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It is a “destination store within a radius of about thirty kilometers and where the average basket is around sixty euros, according to Antoine Aussour, executive director in charge of food in the Zouari family group. It is reminiscent of the successful chain Grand Frais, even if Moez-Alexandre Zouari denies it. The industrial founder of Free Xavier Niel, who also invested in the Yvelines in a “agricultural campus named Hectar, had launched at the end of 2020 with the financier Matthieu Pigasse and Moez-Alexandre Zouari a Spac (special purpose acquisition company), an empty shell financial vehicle, already listed. After numerous rumours, exclusive negotiations began at the end of March with InVivo, a union of 188 French agricultural cooperatives which in 2021 became the second largest agricultural group in Europe, with 13,000 employees for a turnover of 10 billion euros.
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