It has been announced that ICG Asset Management has acquired the iconic French hair salon brand. During the summer, we have seen the acquisition of one of the most celebrated salon groups: Dessange International.
After the death of the iconic founder, Jacques Dessange, in January 2020, the prestigious brand has attracted attention from a number of different investors in the hair salon business.
The majority stakeholder was the Eurazeo Investment Company, which held 68% of the company in which it had invested in 2008. In November 2020, Eurazeo mandated Macquarie Capital to conduct a sale of Dessange. At the time, the operation raised some surprise surrounding the timing of the sale, as consumer-facing brick-and-mortar assets were not very attractive during the pandemic. However, the market has always been interested in asset.
In 2021, the AFP International Agency reported that Core Equity was in exclusive negotiations with the shareholders of Provalliance. Franck Provost’s group was interested in the acquisition and Pascal Coste’s family group was also running at the time as a candidate for the purchase.
The numerous ‘suitors’ surrendered to the final move made by ICG – one of the world’s leading alternative asset managers listed on the London Stock Exchange – which has acquired all the shares of D. Participations, the holding company of the Dessange International Group, previously owned by the investment company Eurazeo. The operation has been confirmed by the Dessange group, chaired by Emmanuel Gasnot, which navigates the territory of the IGC collaborating since 2016 in operations joint financing.
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Dessange International has 1,400 franchised salons in 36 countries (Dessange and Camille Albane), including 1,070 exports, and more than 20,000 employees under the North American brands and the North American Fantastic Sams brand. The group also produces and distributes with its subsidiary DBA, including Phytodess, its international brand of natural hair treatment and Coiff’idis, the French leader in the distribution of hairdressing products and equipment, not to mention the Dessange license.
