Fibre Excellence operates two pulp mills in the south of France with a combined production capacity of 550,000 tons per year of unbleached or bleached pulp.
July 28, 2026 - The Toulouse Commercial Court in France has rejected a takeover bid by French banker Matthieu Pigasse for Fibre Excellence.
Fibre Excellence operates two pulp mills in the south of France — one in Tarascon (Bouches-du-Rhône) and the other in Saint-Gaudens (Occitanie). The mills have a combined production capacity of 550,000 tons per year of unbleached or bleached pulp.
However, the company filed for insolvency on April 13 and has reported a liquidity shortfall estimated at several tens of millions of euros.
According to a news article published by local news outlet La Gazette du Midi, the Tarascon mill is headed for liquidation. But the Saint-Gaudens site has been granted a final reprieve until the end of August and employees have been occupying the plant since July 21 and promise to continue their mobilization to save the site.
While local elected officials and unions have been actively campaigning for several months to save the company, which was placed under court-ordered administration on April 27, the Toulouse Commercial Court rejected, on Monday, July 27, the takeover bid submitted by Mr. Pigasse.
Cédric Bye, secretary of the Fibre Excellence Saint-Gaudens works council and a CGT union representative, said the court's decision doesn't entirely surprise him. "Mr. Pigasse's offer came with conditions. We knew that could be problematic." However, he says he doesn't understand "the government's inaction" in this matter.
The only glimmer of hope: while the commercial court ordered the liquidation of the Tarascon site, it accepted the letter of intent submitted by an industrialist for the takeover of the Saint-Gaudens site. According to a press release issued by Regional President Carole Delga, the judges granted "a 48-hour deadline for the payment of EUR 2 million held in escrow as a guarantee." This payment is a prerequisite for "granting a reprieve until the end of August to submit a credible takeover bid."
The complete article is avaialble at: La Gazette du Midi.
SOURCE: La Gazette du Midi