Eversheds Sutherland Advised on the Sale of Sofisport to FN Browning Group

Eversheds Sutherland Advised on the sale of Sofisport to FN Browning Group

Eversheds Sutherland advised the shareholders of Group Sofisport, a leading manufacturer of hunting and sporting shotshells and components, on its sale to FN Browning Group. Sofisport, a family-owned French company headquartered in Paris, employs around 1,000 people across fifteen sites in France, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Canada. Its subsidiaries, including Nobel Sport, Cheddite, and Sofiam, specialize in ammunition manufacturing and the production of components such as powders, shotshell cases, and primers.

The buyer, FN Browning Group, owned by the Walloon Region of Belgium, designs and manufactures small arms, ammunition, and innovative weapon systems. The group markets the FN and Noptel brands under its Security & Defense division and the Browning and Winchester brands for Hunting & Shooting activities. Based in Herstal (Liège) since 1889, FN Browning Group employs over 3,000 people across seven production sites in Belgium, Portugal, Finland, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

The transaction leverages strong industrial, geographic, and cultural complementarities and enables the combined group to offer a fully integrated product portfolio while consolidating its industrial footprint across nine NATO countries and six EU countries. Following completion, FN Browning Group now employs 4,100 people worldwide across more than 25 industrial, commercial, and administrative sites.

The Eversheds Sutherland team advised the sellers on corporate/M&A aspects comprised Jean-Robert Bousquet (Partner), Victor Grillo (Senior Associate), and Emma Ashburn (Associate). The sellers were also advised on competition law by Freshfields with Jérôme Philippe (Partner) and Basile Marin (Associate), and on tax law by CMS Francis Lefebvre with Jean-Hugues de la Berge (Partner) and Lucie Blancal (Associate).

The buyer was advised by Jones Day, with Audrey Bontemps (Partner), Aurélie Camard (Counsel), and Antoine Moulin (Associate) for corporate/M&A aspects; Alexandre Verheyden (Partner) for competition law; and Nicolas André (Partner) for tax law.

Financial advisors to the sellers were Capitalmind Investec, with Kilian de Gourcuff (Partner), Thibault Bazillon, and Louis Le Clec'h. BNP Paribas Fortis acted as financial advisor to the buyer, with Olivier Limage, Filippo Boeri Erba, Martin Cattoir, Robin Lourme, Philip Wellens, Edouard Farrero, and Tristan Bruynsteen.

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