Sotralu Group, participated by Bridgepoint Development Capital as majority shareholder, reaches a significant milestone in its strategic development plan with the acquisition of FR Accessories in Italy. With its portfolio of brands (Sotralu, GNS and Erreti) and three production sites in France, Portugal and Italy, Sotralu Group is a leading player in the design and production of accessories for aluminium doors and windows. With this acquisition, Sotralu Group strengthens its competencies to effectively expand its product lines in Europe and export markets such as the Middle East and North Africa.

For Sotralu Group, Equita K Finance (Clairfield Italy), part of Equita Group, and Clairfield France were the financial advisors, GOP advised on the legal advice and due diligence, Shearman & Sterling on the legal and tax due diligence, KPMG on the financial and tax due diligence, and Adrimad carried out the commercial due diligence.
For FR Accessories, RDRA served as financial advisor and followed the legal and tax aspects.

FR Accessories is an Italian company specialising in the production of aluminium window and door accessories including brackets and cremone bolts, double handles, tilt and turn sashes, hinges and glazing beads. FR Accessories’ offer perfectly complements the product range of Sotralu Group, with brackets for windows and doors destined for the complementary markets of manufacturers and producers, aligning itself with the products of Sotralu and Erreti. It also includes components for sliding doors and windows, which complement GNS products in the distribution market.

“The success of this external growth operation confirms the vision and ambition that Sotralu Group is pleased to share with Bridgepoint Development Capital. The experience and skills of our teams, oriented towards industrial excellence, provide an unrivalled asset to consolidate our market share in Europe and strengthen our expansion in international markets. The synergies between our products, brands and markets will facilitate the implementation of commercial and industrial synergies that will favour the development of our group,’ explains Eric Julien, CEO of Sotralu Group.

“This third acquisition is perfectly in line with the development strategy defined by Eric Julien when he joined in 2020, which includes expanding Sotralu Group’s product range and geographical presence in new export markets, while consolidating Sotralu Group’s leading position in Europe. With FR Accessories, Sotralu Group accelerates its growth in dynamic export markets, while strengthening its brand and product positioning in mature markets. This acquisition demonstrates the management’s and shareholders’ commitment to pursuing the Group’s growth through targeted acquisitions,’ underlines Mansuy Dieudonné of Bridgepoint Development Capital.

Sotralu Group is one of the leading manufacturers of aluminium window and door accessories, a key partner of some of the world’s leading industrialists and system houses. It consists of three strong and widely recognised brands – Erreti, GNS and Sotralu – and generates more than 50% of its turnover from global exports (China, India, Middle East, etc.).

With a team of 34 investment professionals in Europe (including 12 in Paris), Bridgepoint Development Capital (BDC) is one of the few mid-cap investors able to support the international development of small and medium-sized companies through its nine investment offices and operating teams based in New York, San Francisco and Shanghai. BDC invests between EUR 40 million and EUR 150 million through its latest fund, BDC IV, which raised in 2020. BDC’s portfolio so far consists of nine companies: Sotralu (2014), Anaveo (2015), PrivateSportShop now Sportscape group (2018), Cyrus and Sendinblue (2020), Plug In Digital (2021), Cast and Cegos (2022) and Equativ (2023).

With a turnover of more than 20 million euro, which has been growing strongly over the last three years, FR Accessories is an Italian company specialising in the production of brackets, sliding mechanisms and other accessories for aluminium doors and windows. Headquartered in Recanati, Italy, FR Accessories, with 35 employees, generates 80% of its sales internationally, of which about 40% in the MENA region.