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Decisive Dividend Corp
Symbol DE
Shares Issued 21,264,733
Close 2026-06-03 C$ 9.70
Market Cap C$ 206,267,910
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Decisive Dividend acquires Be Fire

2026-06-03 20:28 ET - News Release

Mr. Jeff Schellenberg reports

DECISIVE DIVIDEND CORPORATION ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF EUROPEAN BASED HEARTH BUSINESS

Decisive Dividend Corp. has acquired Belgium-based specialty hearth manufacturer Be Fire SA for $19.9-million from arm's-length parties.

Be Fire and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Jide SA and New Bodart & Gonay SRL (Bodart & Gonay), design and manufacture a broad range of wood-burning stoves, fireplaces and fireplace inserts in Be Fire's vertically integrated facility in Herve, Belgium. The Jide brand has a 35-year history of producing high-quality, attractively designed mid-range products while the Bodart & Gonay brand has a 69-year history of producing premium-quality higher end-products. Be Fire has strong market presence in Belgium and over the last few years has gained market share in France. With its portfolio of European Ecodesign-compliant products, Be Fire believes it is well positioned to pursue similar geographic expansion opportunities in other adjacent European markets. Be Fire is also actively engaged in new product development to place with its existing dealer base and introduce into potential future markets.

Highlights of the acquisition:

  • On-strategy acquisition: The acquisition is aligned with Decisive's focus of acquiring within the industry verticals it has previously invested in and adds to the hearth vertical, where Decisive has generated strong returns historically.
  • Geographic diversification: Be Fire's core markets of Belgium and France provide an important first point of entry into the large and integrated European market, support diversification of Decisive's revenue streams away from its North American market focus and add euro-denominated cash flows.
  • Strong business fundamentals: Be Fire is a profitable business with a wide range of attractively designed products targeting different consumer segments with growth beyond its Belgium home market into France, and other adjacent geographic expansion opportunities.
  • Synergies: Substantial cross-selling opportunities exist between Be Fire, ACR and Blaze King. Be Fire's Belgian and French dealer relationships accelerates entry of ACR's newly designed Tempus stove, utilizing Blaze King combustion technology and other ACR products into Europe. Likewise, cross-sell opportunities for Be Fire products into ACR's dealer network in the United Kingdom are actionable, given the overlap in regulatory standards between the United Kingdom and Europe. The attractiveness of the contemporary, European-styled, Jide and Bodart & Gonay product lineups provide opportunities for future cross-selling of Be Fire products into North America as well. Finally, there is the opportunity to use Be Fire's manufacturing capabilities to manufacture some of ACR's products.
  • Opportune timing: Be Fire's recent business performance has followed the same market trajectory as Decisive's other hearth businesses and firming business activity levels across Decisive's hearth businesses are also being seen at Be Fire. Further, Decisive's hearth sector businesses have consistently performed well in periods of energy price volatility, supporting the attractiveness of transaction timing.
  • Fully financed: Fully financed through a drawdown on the corporation's syndicated credit facility and its previously announced $8.0-million private placement. After financing the acquisition, the corporation remains conservatively leveraged with a pro forma debt to EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) ratio consistent with preprivate placement leverage levels reported in Q1 (first quarter) 2026. In addition, this transaction allows Decisive to operate under an elevated postacquisition leverage covenant threshold of 4:1 for the next 12 months, providing significant capacity for any operational or future acquisition financing needs.
  • Earnings growth and accretion: The acquisition is expected to be financially accretive to Decisive from a sales, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted-EBITDA-per-share basis. On a five-year average adjusted EBITDA basis, the purchase price is less than five times, in line with Decisive's historical multiples paid on average adjusted EBITDA. Trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA is $3.3-million, with recent sales, orders, backlog and adjusted EBITDA performance trending upward, consistent with Decisive's other hearth businesses. In addition, the transaction structure creates strong alignment to position both Decisive and the vendors to be rewarded as performance levels continue to strengthen.

Jeff Schellenberg, chief executive officer of Decisive, noted:

"The acquisition of Be Fire and its two historic hearth brands is an important step for Decisive and our hearth vertical, which has been the highest returning industry we've invested in. It's important for a few reasons. First, it's an acquisition within an existing industry vertical that we have generated strong returns in and where we have a lot of existing expertise. Second, we are thrilled that the existing leader who built Be Fire's group of businesses, Jean-Philippe Couasnard, will be continuing to lead this business over the next three years. Jean-Philippe's ongoing leadership will help minimize post-transaction disruption, positioning us to immediately focus on pursuing organic growth opportunities within the existing business and across our hearth subsidiaries. Third, each of our three hearth industry businesses have unique brands representing products that access a varied range of market segments within their specific geographic markets. The opportunities to introduce the different brands and product designs/capabilities within those brands across the geographies we operate in is a significant driver of organic growth potential for these businesses and Decisive. Fourth, this transaction helps diversify Decisive's revenue streams into non-North American markets, where trade uncertainty has created volatility. Finally, this transaction is of meaningful scale to help support the return of our dividend payout ratios to targeted levels, while also being completed at a valuation that allows us to maintain a strong balance sheet to support further future acquisitions. All of these factors drive our excitement in welcoming the Be Fire team to our group. We look forward to working with them to deliver returns for our shareholders."

Mr. Couasnard noted:

"We are very pleased to enter into this transaction with Decisive. For Jide, Bodart & Gonay, and the broader Be Fire group, this is an important next step in our development. The strength of this transaction is that it builds on what is already working: established brands, experienced teams, strong customer relationships and deep knowledge of our local markets. Decisive also brings relevant experience in the hearth industry, which gives us confidence that this will support the next phase of growth. Continuity is important to us. The existing management team will remain in place, which will help ensure stability for our employees, customers, suppliers and partners. That continuity will allow us to stay focused on our priorities from day one, including continued organic growth across the business. We also see meaningful opportunities to grow by working more closely across the group. Our brands serve different markets, customer segments and geographies, and there is a clear opportunity to share product expertise, design capabilities and distribution relationships over time. This strengthens our position in Europe and gives us a stronger path into North America, where we believe there is real potential for our products. As we grow, we will remain committed to preserving the qualities that make our businesses distinct: our brand identities, our customer focus, our partner relationships and the engagement of our teams. Over all, we believe this puts the group in a stronger position to create long-term value for customers, partners, employees and shareholders."

The acquisition is subject to the terms and conditions of a share purchase agreement, which was executed today and provides for a base purchase price of $19.9-million, subject to customary adjustments, plus up to an additional $10.7-million contingent on Be Fire achieving certain earnings targets over the next three years, of which the first $2.2-million will be paid through the issuance of 242,027 Decisive common shares (based on the volume weighted average trading price of the common shares for the 10-day trading period ended June 2, 2026, of $9.145) when earned. Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized financial measure under international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and therefore may not be comparable with similar measures presented by other issuers, but it is used by management to assess the performance of the corporation.

About Decisive Dividend Corp.

Decisive Dividend is an acquisition-oriented company, focused on opportunities in manufacturing. The corporation's purpose is to be the sought-out choice for exiting legacy-minded business owners, while supporting the long-term success of the businesses acquired, and, through that, creating sustainable and growing shareholder returns. The corporation uses a disciplined acquisition strategy to identify already profitable, well-established, high-quality manufacturing companies that have a sustainable competitive advantage, a focus on non-discretionary products, steady cash flows, growth potential and established, strong leadership.

We seek Safe Harbor.

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