The Canadian company Abipa Canada Inc. and the French company Groupe ARM announce their strategic merger to create a new aeronautical group which, under the banner "Abipa International", becomes a benchmark player in the machining and manufacturing sector. assembly of sub-assemblies on an international scale. The two companies are thus opening up new development prospects by creating an international group of significant size, enabling them to ensure the development of their activities and maintain their know-how at their various sites.

This operation is the result of a shared vision of the two companies who wish to pursue their growth and diversification together while meeting a significant need of the market and its major contractors to consolidate the supply chain. Financially solid and among the most successful companies in the industry on both sides of the Atlantic, Abipa Canada and Groupe ARM have complementary customer and product bases and are present in the most promising aircraft programs.

The new group thus formed offers a perfect balance between two strong geographic areas of the global aeronautics sector that are North America and Europe, without forgetting its strategic location in North Africa. It now has a significant critical size with a turnover exceeding 100 million Canadian dollars, allowing it to continue its growth and development thanks to its 400 employees and its industrial presence spread over 6 sites and 3 continents, namely in Canada, in France and Morocco.

As part of this transaction, which closed on 1st November 2021, all ARM Group shareholders joined the shareholders of the Abipa Abipa Canada capital that will be the parent company of the new group.

On this occasion and in order to support the financial structure of the new group, the Fonds de solidarite FTQ, as well as Export et Developpement Canada (EDC), are investing a total of 15 million Canadian dollars in equity as part of a balanced capital structure with management. Following this transaction, the main shareholders of the group are now the Fonds de solidarite FTQ, the Couillaud family, Jean Blondin, Ace Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Tikehau Capital, IRDI and EDC.

Jean Blondin will continue to exercise the responsibilities of President and Chief Executive Officer and Ludovic Couillaud will join the executive committee of Abipa Canada as Executive Vice-President and General Manager Europe and Morocco.