In the absence of an identified buyer, Fibre Excellence is attempting to take over its activities itself. The pulp producer, which operates two sites in Tarascon (Bouches-du-Rhône) and Saint-Gaudens (Haute-Garonne), submitted an offer to the Commercial Court on June 1 to ensure the continuity of its industrial and forestry sites, which have been in receivership since last April. The project concerns all the group's assets, including Chapelle Darblay in Seine-Maritime closed since 2019 by UPM and all its 700-strong workforce.
Jean-François Guillot, Chairman and CEO of Fibre Excellence, defends an approach driven by the company's teams: "Management and I are backing this takeover offer because we firmly believe in the future of our sites."
A takeover offer subject to three conditions
However, the submission of the offer does not solve the Group's economic equation. Management is conditioning its project on three decisions expected from the French government before June 17.
The first concerns the most thorny issue in the dossier: the feed-in tariff for electricity generated at Fibre Excellence sites. The group is calling for a mechanism that takes into account the cost of biomass and covers actual production costs.
The second concerns wood supply. Fibre Excellence intends to strengthen its partnership with the Office National des Forêts to gradually secure 25% of its wood requirements from French public forests.
Finally, the group is asking for its Saint-Gaudens plant to be reintegrated into the European CO2 quota system.
For Jean-François Guillot, these three points are "competitive levers essential to the economic viability of our combined pulp/electricity business".
A round of financing still to be finalized before July 10
The takeover project, which involves the creation of a new structure, is based on a shareholders' agreement involving private investors and public players, including the Occitanie and Sud regions. According to Fibre Excellence, several letters of intent have already been obtained.
Management is nevertheless continuing discussions to finalize financing. The offer remains conditional on obtaining additional commitments from private investors before July 10, 2026.
" It is with this proactive, clear-sighted and determined approach that we are carrying out this project, in order to preserve our jobs, our territories and industrial sovereignty over an essential strategic material that it would be dramatic to have to import in its entirety."
