The Shares Researcher

Intro Sodexo was founded in 1966, starting as a small catering company serving institutions and businesses. Nearly 60 years later, it has grown into one of the world's largest food services and facilities management companies, operating in over 40 countries with around 400,000 employees. A key feature of Sodexo is its ownership structure. The Bellon family controls approximately 44% of the capital through their holding company Bellon SA, carrying nearly 59% of voting rights. In 2015, the family entered into a 50-year agreement preventing descendants from freely disposing of their shares – a strong signal of long-term commitment. In early 2024, Sodexo spun off its employee benefits and vouchers business, Pluxee, which is now independently listed. This was a decisive move, transforming Sodexo into a pure-play food and facilities management company. The cross-shareholding with Bellon SA was also unwound the same year, with the proceeds returned to shareholders as a special divid...

Intro Tonnellerie Francois Freres SA (TFF Group) is a leading manufacturer of oak barrels and casks, catering to the wine and spirits industry. With a deep-rooted heritage in cooperage, the company has successfully expanded into whisky and bourbon aging, diversifying its revenue streams beyond traditional wine barrels. Since its foundation, TFF has remained under the stewardship of the Francois family, now in its fourth generation, which currently holds a 71% ownership stake. The remaining shares have been publicly traded on the Paris stock exchange since 1999. Valuation Due to cost pressures and slowing demand, the stock has declined nearly 50%, now trading at a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of approximately 1.08 – just slightly above book value. Additionally, the company has accumulated a sizable debt position following significant investments in bourbon production capacity to capture anticipated growth. With the majority of these investments now complete, the next phase will l...

Intro Probably most people have used a product of this company, which produces ballpoint pens, lighters and razors. In 2019, BIC sold 31 million products every day and is either number one (for lighters) or number two (for shavers and stationery) in terms of market share. Total revenue was hovering around €2 billion p.a. with a free cash flow generation of approx. €200 million per year – as can be expected from a mature, solid firm with a long history. The founder’s family still holds 45% of the shares (voting rights 61%) which guarantees a long-term vision and strategy. Valuation BIC has withdrawn its guidance for 2020, as many other companies as well, where it was initially guiding for a flat year. Historically, BIC earned around €5 per share and we may expect similar numbers after the current crisis will be over, which would result in a P/E of approx. 10x. Besides the attractive dividend (was set at €3.45 per share in the last years and reduced to €2.45 due to COVID-19), the c...