Aux Trois Cigognes, Luc-Pierre Verquin's holding company, has acquired Tourniayre and Dutoit, specialists in the manufacture and packaging of sweet and savoury ready-to-fill products.

About Societex

Agrifood

  • Founded in Marseille in 1897, Tourniayre is based in the Somme region of France and specialises in the manufacture and packaging of ice cream cones and biscuits. The company was taken over more than 30 years ago by Franck Martin, and moved into a new production unit in 2010. Today, Biscuiterie Tourniayre is the oldest manufacturer of ice cream cones in France.
  • Founded in 1951 in Hauts-de-France, Dutoit specialises in the production of puff pastry bites and tart bases. The company was taken over in 2021 by Franck Martin via his holding company HSFM, who has modernised the factory and developed the business alongside Managing Director Karine Coulon.
  • With almost 50 employees and state-of-the-art production facilities, Tourniayre and Dutoit offer top-of-the-range, standard and made-to-measure products to industrial customers, wholesale and specialist distributors and retail chains.
  • As part of the process led by Societex Corporate Finance, Luc-Pierre Verquin, via his holding company ‘Aux Trois Cigognes’, quickly emerged as a natural buyer.
  • This takeover has a special dimension for him, as his family history is linked to biscuit making. His family founded the biscuit factory ‘Aux Trois Cigognes’ one hundred years ago, in 1925. It’s an inheritance that now has a very special resonance with this acquisition.
  • Luc-Pierre Verquin has a wealth of experience in the agri-food industry, most notably as owner and director of Verquin Confiseur for over 15 years. He is also involved in the development of other companies, such as Chocolat Encuentro, Funky Veggie and Têtes Brûlées Expérience, confirming his commitment to supporting and developing this sector.

Client testimonial

‘I’d like to thank the entire SOCIETEX team for their support throughout the sale of our businesses. Thanks to their expertise and commitment, every stage of the process went smoothly. Their perfect knowledge of the agri-food industry, combined with sound strategic advice, was a real asset in bringing this transaction to a successful conclusion. I would highly recommend SOCIETEX to any company looking for serious and effective support.  – Franck MARTIN, CEO of Tourniayre et Dutoit

Stakeholders

Sellers

  • Tourniayre et Dutoit (Franck MARTIN)
  • Advisors :

oFinance advisor: SOCIETEX CF (Thomas BEAURAIN, Ali DRISSI, Solène FRADIN)

oLegal advisor : VAUBAN (Grégory LEFEBVRE, Juliette GIORIA)

Buyers

  • Holding Aux Trois Cigognes (Luc-Pierre VERQUIN)
  • Advisors :

oFinance advisor : Septentrion Finance (Thibaut BOUCHOIR)

oLegal advisor : L&A Levêque & Associés (André LEVÊQUE, Océane SIX)

oFinance Due diligence : EY (Mathieu JAUD DE LA JOUSSELINIERE, Tom CONROY, Oumaïma EL AZAMI)

oLegal, finance et social Due diligence : EY Avocats (Marc THIEBAUT, Joséphine TURPIN, Etienne DURIEUX)

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