Month: October 2022

The company, which develops photovoltaic cells using an organic ink (designed to power low-voltage connected devices), is entering the production phase. It is opening its first factory in Valence, in the Drôme department. It has successfully raised nearly €5.5 million from La Banque des Territoires (on behalf of the State, as part of the ‘Territoires d’innovation’ programme under the France 2030 plan), the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes sovereign wealth fund and the American manufacturer Semtech.

 

After around ten years of development, Dracula Technologies has successfully perfected its photovoltaic technology and scaled up its production.

To date, the company has an annual production capacity of hundreds of thousands of cells and plans to exceed the one-million mark thanks to a new €5.5 million funding round completed this summer.

 

This funding round now enables Dracula Technologies to expand its sales team and increase its international presence, drawing on its industrial partner’s network. The aim is to accelerate the distribution of its organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules, a breakthrough solution for the energy transition. To this end, the company is preparing to invest around twelve million euros in a manufacturing facility. By doubling its workforce by the end of 2023, the company intends to replace polluting materials in electrical appliances with photovoltaic cells that do not contain rare materials.

 

 

“We have a production capacity of around 15,000 modules per week, which enables us to supply pre-production runs. Our aim is to reach 10 million modules per year by the end of next year,” says Pascal Pierron, co-founder.

 

To read the article: CF News article

 

 

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Lead lawyers: Aymeric Dégrémont, Camille Malbezin

 

Parties involved in the transaction:

• Target: DRACULA TECHNOLOGIES
• Investors: BANQUE DES TERRITOIRES , Gabriel Giabicani , SIPAREX , Pierre Taillardat , SEMTECH CORPORATION , Alistair Fulton
• Advisers to the target: ARCHERS , Kamal Naffi
• Investors advisers : JOFFE & ASSOCIES , Aymeric Dégremont, Camille Malbezin (pour Banque des Territoires), BIRD & BIRD, Bertrand Lévy (pour Semtech)
• Fundraising adviser: LEUWEN (EX LEUWEN & CIE) , Alexandre Henault , Alexandra Matzneff

OUTSIGHT RAISES 22 MILLION EUROS TO EXPAND THE APPLICATIONS OF LIDAR

 

To read the article: LES ECHOS article

 

Outsight is making a name for itself with its software for analysing LiDAR data (Light Detection and Ranging, a sensor that detects the environment in 3D). Used in particular to process massive amounts of 3D data from smart vehicles, or to monitor passenger flow in airports, Outsight’s 3D LiDAR is no longer intended solely for autonomous vehicles, and is now used across a range of sectors… These include security, logistics and aviation.

 

The company highlights three markets for its software: infrastructure (tracking people in airports or shopping centres, and smart cities to understand traffic and interactions between users); vehicles (autonomous vehicles, but also construction and material-handling equipment to enhance safety); and industry, to improve personal safety, prevent collisions, or even for applications involving volume measurement to assess the value of stock in warehouses or mines.

 

“Our role as a software developer is to transform data from 3D sensors into information that can be used across a whole range of applications,” explains Raul Bravo, co-founder and chairman of Outsight. “The idea is to make Lidar more widely accessible and to establish it in as many sectors as possible.”

 

On 20 October 2022, Outsight announced that it had raised nearly 22 million euros from Energy Innovation Capital (EIC), the Defence Innovation Fund managed by Bpifrance, BNP Paribas, SPDG, Groupe ADP, Demeter, Safran and Faurecia. This investment by the Defence Innovation Fund highlights the Ministry of Defence’s growing interest in this type of technology. This solution makes Outsight a pioneer and a market leader.

With offices in Paris, Sofia Antipolis and San Francisco, Outsight now has more than 80 employees. The start-up boasts dozens of clients, including ADP, Stellantis, ECA Robotics and Dunakontroll. It is raising these funds to continue its development and attract a growing number of clients.

 

Legal advisers: Thomas SALTIEL, Camille MALBEZIN and Rudy DIAMANT.

Article from FRENCHWEB.FR

 

The start-up studio Imagination Machine has raised nearly €10 million to launch its second cohort of start-ups with a socio-environmental impact. Since its creation in 2017, Imagination Machine has already launched eight impact start-ups, which together employ 150 people and have raised €24 million.

 

Founded by Rob Spiro, a Californian serial entrepreneur, and Émilie Abel, former Executive Director of X-HEC Entrepreneurs, the Nantes-based start-up studio is inviting applications to recruit the founders of its next 10 positive-impact start-ups, which may be based anywhere in France or Europe. “Our team is made up of entrepreneurs,” explains Émilie Abel. “We’re not just in an investment role, but also take a very hands-on approach.”

 

This fundraising round was led by 35 investors, including institutional investors such as the French Tech Accélération 2 fund, part of the Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir (PIA), managed on behalf of the State by Bpifrance as part of the French Tech public initiative, the Caisse d’Epargne Bretagne Pays de Loire, CIC Ouest and private impact investors including Avelana, Enowe and Cameleon. Industrial players also took part in the round, such as the Cetih, Idea, Armor and Eram groups, as well as entrepreneurs including Francis Nappez (BlaBlaCar, Hectar), Fred de Gombert (Akeneo) and Alexandre Launay (Stampyt).

 

“At Imagination Machine, we create high-potential start-ups that are set to expand internationally, because it is by setting ambitious targets that we will truly make an impact on a large scale,” concludes Rob Spiro, CEO and founder of Imagination Machine.

 

Legal advisers: Thomas SALTIEL, Océane CHRISTMANN and Mathilde VASSEUR

INNOVACOM INVESTS IN SAMP, THE DEEP TECH COMPANY THAT FACILITATES THE SUSTAINABLE TRANSFORMATION OF INDUSTRIAL SITES

 

Download the Press Release here: 2022-10-13-CP-Innovacom-investit-dans-SAMP

 

A specialist in supporting startups that, through their innovative technologies, are at the forefront of the environmental, economic and industrial transitions, Innovacom is taking a stake, via its technocom3 seed fund, in SAMP as part of a €4 million funding round. The deep tech startup is developing an innovative digital twin solution for process industry sites, such as thermal power plants, chemical plants and water treatment sites.

Founded in 2020 at the Paris incubator Station F, SAMP draws on a strong alliance between the industrial experience of a CEO and a Chief Operating Officer, who combine more than 35 years of experience at operators, equipment manufacturers and industrial service companies, and cutting-edge expertise in Deep Learning and 3D: the team includes three PhDs and eight patents in these fields.

SAMP’s technology uses a digital twin to provide reliable, contextualized 3D data that is revolutionizing the way transformation projects are carried out at large industrial sites. Based on this intelligent 3D model, which can be navigated intuitively by different professions, industrial work, such as repairs, is planned and carried out on the basis of reality rather than mere assumptions. Industrial asset management, predictive maintenance and performance monitoring are among the main applications that can be implemented thanks to this innovative technology.

The solution developed by SAMP thus reduces the time needed to prepare, carry out and record any on-site intervention. It also makes the framework for these interventions more reliable and secure. SAMP has already deployed its technology with major water and energy groups such as ENGIE, Suez, Téréga and Trapil.

 

“We were drawn to SAMP’s solution, which allows industrial sites to enjoy the benefits of an information modeling system at costs, lead times and levels of complexity compatible with the reality of the industrial environment. This innovation is a major asset in driving the environmental and energy transitions, which necessarily involve a rapid modernization of existing industrial facilities. The digital transition of industry is a major challenge, and it is one of the priority areas of our investment policy,” explains Benjamin Wainstain, Partner at Innovacom.

 

Laurent Bougouin, CEO of Samp, says: “Our ‘Shared Reality’ solution is the catalyst that makes the transformation of these sites toward more sustainable production more reliable and faster. Our ambition is to become the go-to solution that enables industrial players to meet today’s enormous challenges in terms of safety, resilience and the environment. This fundraising with a major partner like Innovacom allows us to accelerate our technical and commercial roadmap, drawing on their strong expertise at the intersection of industry and DeepTech.”

 

Legal Counsel: Thomas SALTIEL, Catherine DIRIL and Charlotte VIANDAZ

Les Echos article, By Anne Drif, Published on Oct. 12, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. Updated on Oct. 13, 2022 at 9:45 a.m.

 

Nothing stops Tehtris, the cyberthreat-fighting expert founded by former members of the Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure (DGSE), France’s external intelligence agency. The start-up has landed one of the biggest fundraisings of the year in French cybersecurity, at €44 million. This financing comes just two years after a €20 million funding round.

Once again, Tehtris has done without Anglo-Saxon venture capital funds: the start-up keeps its French DNA with the arrival of Jolt Capital, the lead investor in this round, alongside its historical backers: Tikehau Ace Capital, CNP Assurances, Nouvelle-Aquitaine Co-Investissement and business angels. The founders, Eléna Poincet, who came from the Action service of the external intelligence service, and Laurent Oudot, formerly of the technical directorate, remain in control.

 

Sovereign solution

 

Tehtris’ goal is to accelerate its grip on international markets, in the face of very aggressive American and Israeli-American competitors such as CyberHorizon or SentinelOne, by recruiting 300 people within two to three years. After Europe, the cyber gem is targeting Canada and Japan as early as December.

“Our roadmap is to give European companies and government agencies autonomy in their fight against hacking, espionage and data theft. We are expanding internationally as an alternative to Anglo-Saxon or affiliated solutions. Our solution acts as a trusted third party,” says Eléna

“Tehtris is the only player with global potential capable of competing with non-European players and helping to offer a sovereign solution,” states Guillaume Girard, Managing Partner at Jolt Capital.

This trajectory is in line with that of the Minister Delegate for Digital Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, who wants to triple the revenue of the cybersecurity sector by 2025, see three unicorns emerge and create 37,000 jobs. As of the end of June 2022, according to a study by Wavestone Bpifrance, the amounts raised by cybersecurity start-ups and scale-ups, some 180 in France, have increased more than sixfold in one year, to €630 million.

 

An underfunded sector in France

 

Historically underfunded, the sector is maturing. Mailinblack, a software publisher that protects email inboxes, announced in mid-September that it had raised €50 million, and Zama about €40 million. “The main challenge for these start-ups is the next stage. Beyond €100 million, even Israeli start-ups are forced to seek funding in the United States,” says Gérôme Billois, Partner at Wavestone.

That is, if they are not bought out beforehand, like Alsid and Sqreen, by American groups. “We are waiting for the funding round that will break through the ceiling in Europe,” he continues. Eléna Poincet’s response is unequivocal: “Our goal is to create a global leader, not to race for funding. Our funding round will remain European.”

 

Legal Counsel

Joffe & Associé / Thomas SALTIEL, Camille MALBEZIN & Rudy DIAMANT

Download the press release here: CP – 2022.10-Groupe-Zephyr-vf

 

This operation allows Seventure Partners and Audacia to sell their stakes, and enables the two executives to strengthen their positions in the Group’s capital.

 

Founded in 2007 and led by Nicolas HURTIGER and Rym BELKORA, the ZEPHYR Group has developed a comprehensive range of services that allows it to offer an appropriate response to each of the needs of older people, at the different stages of their lives.

 

An expertise built on:

 

4 complementary business lines: comfort services, home care assistance, at-home medical care and mobility for older people,
4 brands: Senior Compagnie, Freedom, SynergieMed and Libelia,
150 agencies: company-owned or operated as franchises, spread across the entire country.

 

And a comprehensive range of services for older people, which has enabled the ZEPHYR Group to achieve sustained, steady and profitable growth since its creation, with:

 

branded business volume exceeding €70M in 2021,
Group revenue multiplied by 7 in 5 years.

 

 

To become one of the leaders in home care for older people, Nicolas Hurtiger and Rym Belkora, executives of the Zephyr Group, engaged the M&A advisory firm Linkapital to support them in a structuring, comprehensive financing transaction designed to strengthen their majority control and give the Group the means to grow.

 

 

This transaction is part of the ambitious objectives set by the executives to double the Group’s size within 5 years, with a strategy consisting of:

 

strengthening the Group’s service offering to promote better living and healthy aging for older people,
bringing all of their current agencies to maturity,
doubling the number of franchisees through an active recruitment policy,
stepping up the acquisition program.

 

 

The equity contribution from new financial investors is complemented by senior financing provided by a banking pool comprising Caisse d’Epargne et de Prévoyance Auvergne Limousin (CEPAL), Caisse d’Epargne Bretagne Pays de Loire (CEBPL) and Crédit Agricole d’Ile-de-France (CADIF).

 

“We are committed to pursuing our societal project, improving well-being and the quality of home care while creating skilled jobs. To transform the offering, it is essential to be able to commit to a long-term approach. This transaction gives us the means to match our ambitions: we are strengthening our family-based and entrepreneurial governance, supported by high-quality partners in whom we have confidence and who share our vision.”
Nicolas HURTIGER and Rym BELKORA, ZEPHYR Group

 

“We were particularly drawn to the quality of the management team, led by Nicolas HURTIGER and Rym BELKORA, who have successfully grown the ZEPHYR Group over the years. Named best personal services brand for more than 5 years, Senior Compagnie stands out for its personalized, human-centered support tailored to its beneficiaries. The robustness and resilience of its business model have been demonstrated over the past two years, and growth prospects are strong. We are delighted to support the Group’s development in terms of both organic growth and acquisitions.”
Matthieu CHEVALLIER, SOCADIF CAPITAL INVESTISSEMENT

 

 

“The values and convictions upheld by the ZEPHYR Group are strong pillars that differentiate the Senior Compagnie/Freedom agencies in a home care sector that is evolving rapidly. We have full confidence in the development project led by Nicolas HURTIGER and Rym BELKORA, with a heightened commitment to supporting, at every stage, the needs and healthy aging of our seniors.”
Geoffrey NGUYEN, SODERO GESTION

 

“Convinced that the home care market for older people will see even stronger growth in the coming years, we wanted to support the Zephyr Group’s executives in a structuring transaction by providing substantial financial resources, which will enable them to help a greater number of older people remain in their own homes for as long as possible.”
Grégory SABAH, Jean-Philippe DELTOUR and Farid BELKALEM, LINKAPITAL

 

 

Parties to the transaction:

 

GROUPE ZEPHYR: Nicolas HURTIGER, Rym BELKORA
INCOMING INVESTORS:
SOCADIF : Emmanuel DAVID, Matthieu CHEVALLIER
SODERO GESTION : Geoffrey NGUYEN
OUTGOING INVESTORS:
SEVENTURE PARTNERS : Armand KARPINSKI
AUDACIA : Thomas SCHMITZ
INVESTMENT BANK:
LINKAPITAL : Grégory SABAH, Jean-Philippe DELTOUR, Farid BELKALEM
INVESTORS’ LEGAL COUNSEL:
JOFFE & ASSOCIES : Virginie BELLE, Paddy PASCOT

BY ARNAUD LEFEBVRE, September 28, 2022

 

Seeking to strengthen its market share in the region, the independent wealth management firm Patrival, based in Wasquehal, has just acquired the entire share capital of Magenta Patrimoine, a private wealth management firm based in Lille. Through this transaction, the group gains more than €115 million in assets under management and around one hundred new clients.

Two years after the reshuffling of its shareholder base, Patrival is accelerating its development. Having expanded its workforce and invested in the digitalization of its solutions, the independent wealth management firm, located in Wasquehal, has just acquired Magenta Patrimoine, a private wealth management firm based in Lille. Patrival had been actively looking for regional targets for several months, aiming not only to scale up but also to raise its profile, and directly approached Magenta Patrimoine’s three executives toward the end of the first quarter.

“The company offered the double advantage of operating in the same line of business as ours, namely private wealth management, and of being a geographic neighbor, two criteria we had set beforehand,” explains Vincent Ténière, Managing Director and Partner at Patrival. “Moreover, I already knew one of its partners, Jean-Pierre Louf, while another, Nicolas Duriez, had worked at Patrival about twenty years ago. The trust needed for this type of transaction was therefore naturally in place.”

 

An acquisition debt put in place

 

Although it had not launched a sale process, the Magenta Patrimoine team was receptive to this expression of interest. “The asset management sector is very tightly regulated, and regulatory constraints are increasing,” continues Vincent Ténière. “That is why smaller firms are considering joining a larger group, which also allows them to offer their clients a broader range of solutions and services.”

Highlighting “a very similar culture and DNA,” the two entities quickly agreed on the terms of their combination, which was sealed over the summer. The transaction amount remains confidential. The deal was financed 25% with equity and 75% with debt. The debt was provided by CIC Nord-Ouest and Banque populaire du Nord, the two banks that make up Patrival’s banking pool.

 

More than two hundred client families

 

Since this acquisition takes the form of an absorption of Magenta Patrimoine, its name will disappear within a few weeks. Its arrival within Patrival’s perimeter will allow the combined entity to increase its assets under management by €115 million, bringing them to €1.1 billion (of which €850 million relates to direct clients), and to welcome around one hundred new clients. Serving wealthy families and entrepreneurs who are from and/or based in northern France, Patrival now claims around 700 clients, from nearly 200 families.

Although the firm intends to focus in the short term on integrating Magenta Patrimoine, it nonetheless remains on the lookout for other external growth opportunities. This is all the more so as the deterioration of the economic environment and the correction suffered by the financial markets since the beginning of the year could lead to lower target valuations in the coming months. In parallel, the firm does not rule out making new hires.

Legal Counsel: Christophe JOFFE, Antoine LAMY, Mathilde VASSEUR