FDBusiness.com

Alain Ducasse, a standard-setting chef for French cuisine across the globe and founder of Alain Ducasse Entreprise, and Philippe Salle, chairman and chief executive of Elior Group, one of the world’s leading players in the contract and concession catering markets, have decided to team up. The partnership involves Elior Group acquiring some 10% of Alain Ducasse Entreprise’s capital. This will notably enable Alain Ducasse Entreprise to ensure that its planned openings at prestigious sites – ranging from Versailles to the new Les Halles quarter in Paris – can take place in the best possible conditions. For its part, Elior Group will be able to benefit from Alain Ducasse’s savoir-faire and expertise so that it can proudly showcase French cuisine in all of its markets and service offerings.

This strategic partnership will, from the outset, accelerate each partner’s respective growth trajectory and create additional drivers for their lasting success, reinforcing their shared commitments. The two groups expect to leverage synergies from the combination in terms of providing culinary consulting, winning contracts together for major concessions across the world, and creating joint designs of innovative catering concepts.

Alain Ducasse says: “Our partnership with Elior Group represents the inauguration of a new type of business model that allies large-scale services with excellence.” Equally enthusiastic about the deal, Philippe Salle says: “The reason why our two groups decided to join forces is because we have a shared vision of excellence and a common desire to innovate in order to better serve our customers.”