ABEO History

France Equipement, founded in 1955, has been bought out by its employees. Bernard Estèves, father of current CEO Olivier Estèves, took over its management.

At the time, France Equipement was a general distributor of equipment for public authorities (sports facilities, changing rooms, signage, outdoor playgrounds, etc.).

In 1988, Olivier Estèves joined France Equipement as Sales Director. In 1992, he succeeded his father as Chairman and CEO, and began refocusing France Equipement around the locker room business.

Previously located on the outskirts of Besançon (France), France Equipement moved with its two sister companies, ACMAN (acquired in 1984) and Suffixe (acquired in 1999), a few kilometers away, to Rioz (France).

After a few difficult years due to falling local authority budgets, Olivier Estèves was convinced that the company's development would depend on diversifying its business. He therefore decided to focus on sports equipment, a complementary sector to changing rooms. In 2002, the opportunity arose to acquire Gymnova, France's leading manufacturer of gymnastic equipment, and Entre-Prises (now EP Climbing), which invented the concept of artificial climbing holds and walls. Together with France Equipement, these companies form the Group's three Divisions: Sport, Sportainment & Escalade, Changing Rooms.

To enable these acquisitions, a holding company was created: Olivier Estèves simply proposed the name "ABEO", a nod to the initials of his father and predecessor, Bernard, and his two brothers, Antoine and Etienne.

In 2009, CM-CIC Investissement (now Crédit Mutuel Equity) acquired a stake in the company as ABEO continued to expand. Since 2002, the Group has acquired the manufacturers and distributors of Gymnova and EP Climbing in the UK and Germany. It has also acquired Gymnova Switzerland, EP USA and PCV Collectivités, a specialist in leisure and sports facilities.

ABEO acquires Spanish company Top30, specialized in climbing walls.

Gymnova is chosen as supplier to the London Olympic Games for the artistic and rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline events. Its O'Jump brand also supplies the mats for the wrestling events, while ACMAN builds the stage podiums (used to raise the competition platforms).

ABEO acquires three companies:

• Spieth Anderson, an American gymnastics equipment company
• Prospec, one of the UK market leaders in cabins and changing rooms
• NAVIC, a major French player in the pool changing room market

ABEO acquires the Dutch group Janssen-Fritsen, one of the world leaders in gymnastics and sports equipment, notably through its Spieth, Janssen-Fritsen and Schelde Sports brands. This operation marks a major step forward in the Group's development, considerably strengthening its potential in international markets.

ABEO integrates a French company, Sanitec, into its Changing Rooms Division.

The Group also acquires a majority stake in the New Zealand company Clip'n'Climb, the originator of an innovative play climbing concept. ABEO thus takes its first steps into the world of Sportainment, combining sport and leisure.

ABEO sets up offices in Lyon (France), in addition to its headquarters in Rioz (France).

The Group supplies the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro: Schelde Sports equips the basketball events, Gymnova and Spieth the artistic and rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline events, and ACMAN provides the stage podiums.

On October 11th, ABEO goes public on the Paris stock exchange, raising €22.2 million to support its international development strategy.

In November, ABEO acquires Erhard Sport, a sports equipment specialist in Germany.

In January, ABEO acquires the English company Sportsafe, a specialist in sports equipment maintenance with over 10,000 customers across the UK.

In November, the Group acquires Meta Trennwandanlagen GmbH, a leading German manufacturer and distributor of sanitary cabins.

In January, ABEO acquires the Chinese company Shandong Kangnas Sports (now Cannice), which produces and distributes sports equipment in China.

In February, the Group acquires the Dutch company Bosan, which produces and distributes sports equipment in the Benelux countries.

In November, ABEO acquires the American company Fun Spot, which designs, produces and distributes leisure park equipment, in particular trampoline parks. The acquisition also includes Sportainment Engineering and Design (SED), a design agency based in India.

In January, ABEO signs a partnership with VOGO, which develops and markets audio and video solutions for fans and professionals in the worlds of sport and industry. Together, the Group and VOGO aim to develop an innovative turnkey solution for live broadcasting of sports content.

ABEO and Jin Ling Sports create the Jinao joint venture to market the Group's products in China. Jin Ling Sports is a Chinese sports equipment company listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange.

Three ABEO brands are present at the Tokyo Olympic Games: Spieth Gymnastics for the gymnastics (artistic and rhythmic) and trampoline events, Schelde Sports for the basketball events, and 3x3 basketball, which is making its Olympic debut... as is sport climbing, whose walls are supplied by EP Climbing.

In November, ABEO acquires Eurogym, the Belgian distributor of the Gymnova brand.

In May, the Brick brand is launched. Developed by the ABEO and Gymnova teams, it specializes in equipment for parkour, the urban sport of moving over obstacles. The discipline joined the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) in 2018.

In June, ABEO acquires Dutch company BigAirBag, one of the world leaders in inflatable landing areas.

ABEO is present at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games with three of its brands and, for the first time, is named Official Supporter of an Olympiad. This unprecedented status is also enjoyed by its Gymnova brand, supplier to the artistic and rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline events. EP Climbing supplies the sport climbing events, and Schelde Sports the basketball, 3x3 basketball and wheelchair basketball events.