Hivest Capital Partners S.A.S. (“Hivest Capital“), an independentEuropean private equity firm, has signed a Sale and PurchaseAgreement to acquire a majority stake in Groupe SPHERE, theEuropean leader in sustainable household packaging, alongside thePersenda family as well as the company’s executives and employeeshareholders.

Founded in 1976, with approximately 70% of its sales in recycled orcompostable bio-based materials, SPHERE is a French family-ownedgroup and a European leader in household packaging.

SPHERE manufactures and distributes a wide range of products for theconsumer, professional, and public sector markets: waste bags,collection bags, fruit and vegetable bags, freezer bags, cooking bags,reusable shopping bags, films and papers for food and non-foodcontact, aluminum trays and rolls, disposable tableware, andcontainers for take-away food, among others.

SPHERE’s development strategy aims to innovate for futuregenerations with the following key objectives:

Using the appropriate material for each product based on its end-of-life;

Increasing the use of recycled or bio-based and compostablematerials;

Developing the production of compostable bio-based rawmaterials;

Designing materials with a low environmental impact.

With 15 production sites across Europe, including 7 in France, and anannual production capacity of 235,000 tons of films and bags, SPHEREgenerated sales close to €800 million in 2023 and employs over 1,600people.

This capital reconfiguration also enables the group to accelerate itsambitious development plan and strengthen its position as a leader inits European markets, particularly through external growth operations.

John Persenda, Chairman and CEO of SPHERE, commented: “Thisoperation will allow us to maintain continuity in the group’s governanceand ensure its future development. It already gives us the opportunityto complete an external growth operation, which we will announce verysoon.“

Alexandre Levavasseur, from Hivest Capital, added: “We extend oursincere thanks to Mr. John Persenda and his team for their trust. Overthe years, Groupe SPHERE has demonstrated exemplary resilience anda constant capacity for innovation, cementing its position as a pioneerin the sustainable packaging market. We are proud and excited tosupport this company in a new phase of its development. Together, weshare a common ambition: to strengthen our position as a key player inrecycled, bio-based, and compostable packaging.“

About SPHERE

Founded in 1976, SPHERE is a French family-owned group and theEuropean leader in household packaging, as well as one of the world’sleading producers of bio-based compostable materials for films andbags.

For more information: https://www.sphere.eu

About Hivest Capital Partners

Hivest Capital Partners is an independent European private equity firmauthorized by the Financial Markets Authority. In the context of buyoutor expansion projects, Hivest Capital Partners invests in mid-sizedbusinesses with revenues generally ranging from €100 million to €1billion. The private equity firm aims to help companies reach their fullpotential through improved operational performance and ambitiousgrowth strategies.

For more information: https://hivestcapital.com

Participants

Buyer

Investor – Hivest Capital Partners: Cédric Lépée, Axel Bonnassies,Alexandre Levavasseur, Frédéric Ramé, Gaël de Rohan Chabot,Maximilien Pignal

Buyer’s Advisor – Aymax: Guillaume Bourcier

M&A Advisor – Bucéphale Finance: Timothée Fontaine, BaptisteJouve, Jovane Anton Mel George

M&A Advisor – Raphaël Financial Advisory: Benoit O’Mahony, Hugode la Brosse

Legal Advisor – Hogan Lovells:

Corporate and Transaction: Stephan Hutten, Christophe-Marc Juvanon, Sophie Tricot, Raphaël Morin

Tax: Ludovic Geneston, Alexis Caminel, Olivia Berdugo

Competition: Éric Paroche, Victor Lévy, Éléonore Castagnet

Legal Financing Advisor: Erwan Héricotte

Financing Advisor: Laurence de Rosamel

Financial Due Diligence – Eight Advisory: Gennat Mouline, GillesScherrer

Strategic Due Diligence – Stratégia: Jean Berg, Thomas Chèvre,Simon Grosman, Manon Clément

Operations Due Diligence – Kepler: Lionel Muller, ChristopheLefevbre, Ghassen Dkhili

IT Due Diligence – Bearing Point: Jean-Charles Chevalier, VictorCrété, Hatem Dhouib

Legal, Tax, Social Due Diligence – UGGC Avocats: David Gordon-Krief, Charles-Emmanuel Prieur, Bernard de la Vallée Poussin

Environmental Due Diligence – Ginger Burgeap: Karim Abel Sebti

Regulatory Due Diligence – Boury Tallon & Associés: BenjaminFaure, Nancy Ranarivelo

ESGDue Diligence – I Care: Régis Cornelie, Nicolas Forget, EmmaAubert

Sellers

Legal Advisor – Depardieu: Jean-François Pourdieu, Hugues deFouchier, Matthieu Candia

Personal Lawyers for Mr. & Mrs. Persenda – Delpeyroux: PatrickDelpeyroux

Personal Lawyers for Mrs. Persenda – BDGS:Lucile Gaillard

Legal Advisor for Orfite – TAJ:Antoine Larcena

ManagementAdvisor – Coruscans: Frédéric Balochard

Commercial Due Diligence – Advancy: Florent Chapuis, Pierre-Olivier Petit

Financial Due Diligence – KPMG

Legal, Tax, Social Due Diligence – KPMG

Environmental Due Diligence – Aecom