Manoir Industries

Manoir Industries SA ('Manoir') was a producer of speciality steel and alloy components and subsystems for a wide range of industries. A long established name in the European steel industry, Manoir had all the necessary components required for a successful deal. A good track record, a strong management team and powerful market position made it a force to be reckoned with among the players in an industry which has had its fair share of problems in recent years.

Manoir started trading in 1958 as a producer of special alloy tubes with very modest sales. Through a combination of strong intrinsic growth and focused acquisitions of other speciality steel and alloy component manufacturers, the business had grown by 1997 into a highly profitable operation with annual sales of €2 billion and some 3,000 employees.

The success of Manoir in an industry where rationalisation had been fierce was in large part due to the management team's vision. Manoir focused on supplying components made of special alloys and steel to OEMs in the petrochemical, energy, medical, aeronautical and defence industries. Manoir's ability to offer clients the very latest in both casting and forgings technology explained why it added considerable value to clients with whom it works in close partnership.

In 1997, Montagu co-led and co-arranged the Management Buyout of the company from its owners Strafor Facom SA and Trustmetal SA. The sale arose when Strafor decided to focus on factory and tertiary equipment. Following the decision to sell Manoir Industries, the President, M. Roger Hubert, an expert in the sector, considered several private equity investors before deciding on Montagu.

With both vendors having a strong desire to invest in the buyout, the deal was structured to enable them and management to have a minority shareholding in the deal alongside Montagu and the resulting financing package suited the aspirations of management and vendors.

The investment was realised in 1999 when Manoir was sold to a financial acquiror, Fondes Partenaires.