The famous manufacturer of supermarket trolleys Caddy escaped liquidation on Tuesday, thanks to the green light of justice for its takeover by the Cochez group, but will lose nearly a fifth of its workforce.
At the end of a hearing behind closed doors of more than two hours, the commercial chamber of the judicial court of Saverne (Bas-Rhin) accepted the takeover offer presented by the northern industrialist, as desired by the judicial administrators. .
Placed in receivership at the beginning of January, Caddy could thus make a new start, after weeks of uncertainty, its workforce being however reduced from 139 to 113 employees.
“It’s a great relief,” reacted the outgoing president of the Alsatian company Stéphane Dedieu, who will remain a minority shareholder.
The accepted offer, which was the only one presented, allows the takeover of Caddy’s only production site located in Dettwiller (Bas-Rhin).
“It’s not a financial operation for me. What motivates me is the safeguard of an endangered industrial heritage”, underlined Pascal Cochez, founder of the group of the same name, eager to “launch a commercial reconquest” for Caddy trolleys.
“Mr. Cochez is a business buyer, if he puts the money in, it’s because he believes in it”, considered Claude-Maxime Weil, one of the judicial administrators.
The Cochez group, which specializes in transport and industrial services, is based in Valenciennes and has a total of 330 employees. In particular, in 2019 he took over the lacemakers Desseilles and Noyon, jewels of the lace industry in Calais.
– Month of uncertainty –
Name registered in 1959 and inspired by golf, Caddy, whose industrial and Alsatian origins date back to 1928 with wire products, had its heyday with the rise of the consumer society, inseparable from the metal trolley for large surfaces, before accumulating the difficulties.
Owned since 2018 at 70% by the Polish Damix, the company whose name has become a common name was forced into another bankruptcy in January, the third in ten years. His factory continued to operate and wages were paid thanks to an exceptional loan from the State and the region.
“It is mainly the employees who have carried this company at arm’s length, since the fact of continuing to work since January has made it possible to avoid the dry judicial liquidation”, insisted Thierry Carl, CFTC deputy secretary of the CSE. At the cost, however, of “a lot of anxiety and nervousness” during these months of uncertainty, he noted.
– A future-
The Cochez group, which will now hold 66% of Caddy, came in March to the rescue of an initial offer presented by Stéphane Dedieu and Italian and German partners. They had not managed to raise the necessary funds to go it alone and will remain in the minority with 34% of the shares.
In total, approximately one million euros of equity are contributed by the new shareholders, but this takeover is also made possible by public funds, with repayable loans announced by the State and the Grand Est region, to the tune of nearly of 900,000 euros.
Noting “fragilities” in the takeover offer, with a limited equity contribution, Bercy however considered that “this offer had the merit of existing”, adding that the State wished “to support it, given the importance of the Caddy business for the territory”.
“We continue to think that Caddy is a company that not only has a past but also a future if it reorganizes,” said Boris Ravignon, vice-president of the Grand Est region, in charge of the economy, on Monday.
To put Caddy back on track, Pascal Cochez, who plans to look for a new general manager for the company on Tuesday, is counting on two main levers: a revaluation of selling prices, to take account of the rise in raw materials, and productivity gains. It aims for a first annual turnover of 17 million euros, against twelve million over the last financial year.