ABEO History

France Equipement, founded in 1958, 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 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).

Olivier Estèves, convinced that the company's development would depend on diversifying its business, decided to enter the sports equipment market, a complementary sector to changing rooms. 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, French specialist in outdoor play equipment.

ABEO acquired Spanish climbing wall specialist Top30.

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

ABEO acquired 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 has acquired the Dutch group Janssen-Fritsen, one of the world leaders in gymnastics and sports equipment, thanks to its Spieth, Janssen-Fritsen and Schelde Sports brands. This operation marks a major step forward for the Group, which has considerably strengthened its potential in international markets.

ABEO integrated the French company Sanitec, into its Changing Rooms Division.

The Group also acquired a majority stake in Clip'n'Climb, a New Zealand company that has created an innovative concept in fun climbing. ABEO has thus taken its first steps into the world of Sportainment, combining sport and leisure.

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

The Group was a supplier to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games: Schelde Sports equipped the basketball events, Gymnova and Spieth the artistic and rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline events, and Acman provided the stage podiums.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In November, ABEO acquired 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.

Convinced of its development potential in the digital sports markets, ABEO signed a partnership with VOGO, a company that develops and markets audio and video solutions for fans and professionals in the sports and industrial sectors.

ABEO and Jin Ling Sports have created 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 were 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 was making its Olympic debut... as was sport climbing, whose walls were supplied by EP Climbing.

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

In May, the Brick brand was launched, specializing in parkour equipment. Parkour is a sport of urban origin which consists in moving around by overcoming obstacles. Brick products were developed by ABEO teams and are distributed by several Group companies, including Gymnova and Spieth. Parkour was integrated into the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) in 2018.

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

ABEO was present at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games with three of its brands, as an Official Supporter. This status was also enjoyed by its Gymnova brand, supplier to the gymnastics (artistic and rhythmic) and trampoline events. EP Climbing supplied the sport climbing events, and Schelde Sports the basketball, 3x3 basketball and wheelchair basketball events.