F2A acquires Aéro Diffusion: doubling down on fabric ducting and aiming for France's ventilation top 10

F2A, the French air-handling equipment manufacturer behind the acquisition

Based in Dagneux, in the Ain department, and with almost thirty years of history, F2A designs and manufactures air-distribution and acoustic components for HVAC professionals across four product lines: dampers and valves, acoustic baffles and attenuators, flexible connectors, and fabric air-distribution ducts. The industrial SME employs 260 people worldwide, generated revenue of EUR 35.7m in 2024 and operates three plants in France — Dagneux and Béligneux in the Ain, and Saint-Ouen-sur-Iton in the Orne. It serves demanding markets under ISO 9001, 14001 and 19443 certification, with a service level above 95%. Its strategy follows a published roadmap: to become a mid-cap company (an ETI, France's intermediate-sized enterprise category) within five years and to join the top 10 French ventilation players, through an external growth strategy launched three years ago — first the Grenoble deeptech Enerbee, now the fabric duct specialist Aéro Diffusion.

Aéro Diffusion, the Rezé-based maker of fabric air-distribution ducts

Located in Rezé, in the Nantes metropolitan area, Aéro Diffusion is a family-owned business that manufactures, at its Loire-Atlantique plant, a full range of fabric air-distribution ducts, suspension systems, containment screens and air-distribution accessories — all made on site for air-distribution professionals. A recognised specialist in its field with both a local and a national reach, the company generates EUR 1.7m in revenue with 12 employees and has built a particularly strong position in the food-processing and industrial markets — precisely where the acquirer, more focused on commercial buildings, was less present. Continuity lies at the heart of the published structure: the acquisition covers 100% of the shares, the company becomes a subsidiary of the group, and both the 12 employees and the Rezé production site are retained — with its founder and chairman, Georges Charton, publicly welcoming the deal.

What the press said about F2A's acquisition of Aéro Diffusion

The deal, announced on 9 April 2025, is documented by France's leading M&A marketplace, the acquirer's official press release and the business press in the target's region:

Why this bolt-on acquisition, and why this target

For F2A, the rationale comes down to a roadmap: “Our roadmap is clear: to become a mid-cap company within five years,” said Jean-Philippe Margrita, F2A's chief executive — and, he added, to join the top 10 players in French ventilation, announcing that the group was already looking at new opportunities. Along this path, each acquisition has a specific role: this one targets the fabric duct segment, where the group is already present but wants to double its market share, and the food-processing and industrial markets, where the target is firmly established whereas F2A mainly served commercial buildings and large logistics hubs. It is a complementarity that is both geographic and sectoral — the Ain and Loire-Atlantique, commercial buildings and agri-food industry — which the press release explicitly highlights.

On the target side, Aéro Diffusion had exactly the profile a segment consolidator looks for: a recognised specialist — in a specification-driven trade, reputation is as good as an order book; a full range custom-made in its own plant; installed references in the most demanding markets for fabric ducting — food processing requires washability, hygiene and compliance; and a national reach despite a team of twelve. A direct competitor of F2A in the segment, the company became its ideal complement: the product ranges add up, the markets dovetail, and the fabrication know-how joins a group that already has its own technical textiles unit. The published continuity — site, teams and a founder welcoming a win-win deal — did the rest.

French ventilation industry consolidation around segment champions

This deal illustrates the ongoing consolidation of the French ventilation market: driven by environmental building regulations, indoor air quality requirements and the electrification of industrial processes, the sector is seeing its industrial SMEs combine to reach critical mass — the size needed to invest, innovate and serve large national clients. The fabric duct segment is a telling example: a lightweight, hygienic and cost-efficient alternative to rigid ductwork, it is growing with food processing, logistics and large-volume buildings — and its specialists, often family-run fabrication workshops, are becoming sought-after pieces for consolidators.

The deal is also a story of successful business succession within France's industrial fabric: a twelve-person family business joining, together with its plant and a founder praised in the press release, a nearby industrial group — a domestic consolidation from the Ain to Loire-Atlantique that keeps jobs and production capacity in Rezé. For the acquirer, it is the second acquisition in a clearly stated strategy — after the Grenoble deeptech Enerbee, a segment specialist — and the chief executive says so plainly: new opportunities are already under review. The roadmap to mid-cap status is being built deal by deal.

Collaboration Capital's buy-side advisory on this acquisition

On this deal, Collaboration Capital acted as buy-side adviser. The acquisition of a specialist by a ventilation consolidator plays out in four stages — and approaching a direct competitor makes each of them particularly sensitive.