Category: Deals

Joffe & Associés advised Hygie31, a French group and leading player in the pharmaceutical market operator of Pharmacie Lafayette and six other networks, in connection with its strategic partnership with GalileoLife, an Italian network comprising 690 independent pharmacies.

 

This partnership aims to accelerate GalileoLife’s development by leveraging Hygie31’s expertise and services. It includes the launch in Italy of a new concept inspired by Pharmacie Lafayette, as well as the implementation of joint solutions to optimize pharmacy management.

 

The alliance will enable GalileoLife to strengthen its network, expand its portfolio of exclusive brands, and share services with Hygie31, enhancing the performance of their affiliated pharmacies. More broadly, this initiative is part of Hygie31’s European strategy, already underway in Spain, aimed at building a robust ecosystem to support independent pharmacies, while reinforcing its strong social commitment to ensuring access to healthcare for all.

 

The Joffe & Associés team advising on this transaction included partners Christophe Joffe and Camille Malbezin.

Joffe & Associés advised Capital Croissance on its investment in Seipra Score through an owner buy-out transaction. Seipra Score is a leading French player in embedded and stationary electronic solutions for public transport networks.

 

Founded in 1982 and employing nearly 70 people, Seipra Score supports its clients across the entire value chain, from equipment design to operational maintenance.

 

This transaction will strengthen the management team’s resources to further drive Seipra Score’s growth. Capital Croissance will support the company in structuring its activities and implementing its strategic plan, notably through external growth operations.

 

The Joffe & Associés team included Aymeric Dégremont, partner, Clément Peillet and Alexia Guyot, associates.

Joffe & Associés advised Seiven Group, its CEO and main shareholders on the capital reorganization of the new parent company: Seiven Holding.

 

Seiven is a leading player in the French post-mortem services market, with revenues of €35 million in 2024, a team of 100 employees, and a portfolio of 8 complementary brands covering the entire value chain of the sector.

 

This transaction represents a key milestone in the Group’s growth, now strengthened by the reinvestment of its founder and the arrival of GENEO Capital Entrepreneur as a new anchor shareholder, providing further momentum to its expansion across the European market. With this partnership, Seiven aims to double in size within the next 5 to 7 years and establish itself as the European leader in its field, combining organic growth with targeted acquisitions in France and Europe.

 

The Joffe & Associés team involved in this transaction included Christophe Joffe (Partner), Charlotte Viandaz (Counsel), Clément Peillet and Océanne Lewden (Associates).

Joffe & Associés advised Socadif Capital Investissement, a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole d’Île-de-France, on its equity investment in Spareka, a platform specializing in spare parts for home and garden.

 

Spareka welcomes two new leading investors: Socadif and Generali, who join Demeter and Banque des Territoires as shareholders.

 

This partnership aims to strengthen Spareka’s impact in the insurance and retail sectors by facilitating access to repair services in the event of damage or under product warranties. With the entry of Generali, a leading insurer in France, and Socadif, Spareka is taking a decisive step in rolling out its sustainable and innovative solutions to support the repair economy.

 

The Joffe & Associés team on this transaction was led by partner Virginie Belle.

JOFFE & ASSOCIÉS announces a major victory in one of the most significant damages cases arising from anticompetitive practices in France. The Paris Court of Appeal has ordered Sanofi to pay more than €150 million to the French National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) for practices related to the drug Plavix.

 

A record €150.7 million award

In a judgment handed down on 24 September 2025, the Paris Court of Appeal (Division 5 – Chamber 4) ordered Sanofi SA and Sanofi Winthrop Industrie SA, jointly and severally, to pay CNAM a total amount of €150,748,005 in damages.

 

This ruling follows the abuse of dominant position through disparagement practices sanctioned in 2013 by the French Competition Authority and definitively upheld in 2016 by the Cour de cassation. Sanofi had hindered the entry of Plavix generics into the French market, depriving the French Health Insurance system and patients of substantial savings they would have achieved in the absence of Sanofi’s anticompetitive conduct.

 

Damages spanning nearly a decade

The court-appointed expert report, conducted over more than two years, established that the anticompetitive practices continued to produce effects until September 2021—over ten years after their implementation.

 

The damages are broken down as follows:

• €111,666,964 for harm related to reimbursement of insured persons
• €14,556,030 for harm related to pharmacists’ remuneration
• €24,525,011 in financial damages resulting from the passage of time

 

The Court of Appeal also rejected Sanofi’s request to set aside the expert report and order further expert proceedings, thereby validating the methodology used by CNAM and its counsel in the calculation of damages.

 

This decision perfectly illustrates the principle of full compensation for harm suffered by victims, even indirect ones, of anticompetitive practices—in this case, the French National Health Insurance Fund.

 

The JOFFE & ASSOCIÉS team, composed of Tehani Goy and Olivier Cavézian (partners) and Fanny Callede (counsel), conducted this complex litigation for nearly a decade.

 

Additional awards

In addition to damages, the Court ordered Sanofi SA and Sanofi Winthrop Industrie SA, jointly and severally, to pay CNAM:

• €500,000 pursuant to Article 700 of the French Code of Civil Procedure
• All first-instance and appellate court costs
• Judicial expert fees amounting to €217,641.94 including VAT

 

In this case, the Joffe & Associés team was supported by the economics consultancy RBB Economics (Francesco Rosati and Julie Yerle).

Joffe & Associés advised Fira Nord-Est, a seed fund managed by Finovam Gestion, on StemInov’s €10.6 million fundraising.

 

This French biopharmaceutical company develops innovative cell therapies for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

 

The transaction will enable StemInov to accelerate its industrial and clinical development.

 

The funds raised will support the implementation of a bioproduction platform compliant with European regulatory standards, facilitating the necessary approvals for the commercialization of its therapies.

 

The Joffe & Associés team advising on this transaction included Thomas Saltiel, partner, and Charlotte Viandaz, counsel.

Joffe & Associés advised ConvictionsRH and its management on its sale to Mercer, a global leader in human resources consulting.

 

Founded in 2007 by five founding partners, ConvictionsRH is a consulting firm specializing in human resources, HRIS, and transformation. The company employs 250 consultants across several offices in France and generated €35 million in revenue in 2024. In April 2025, the firm strengthened its expertise by acquiring Ayming’s HRIS consulting division.

 

Mercer, a subsidiary of Marsh McLennan, is expanding its presence in France with this strategic acquisition. The deal enables the U.S. group to integrate ConvictionsRH’s digital and transformation expertise into its HR services portfolio.

 

This transaction provides ConvictionsRH with access to Mercer’s global resources and opens new growth opportunities for its teams. Clients will benefit from an expanded range of HR services on a worldwide scale.

 

The Joffe & Associés team advising on this transaction included partners Romain Soiron and Aymeric Dégremont, associate Paddy Pascot (M&A / Corporate), partner Virginie Davion, and associate Clément Peillet (Tax).

Joffe & Associés advised Cailabs, a global leader in advanced photonics, on its €57 million financing round with the European Investment Bank, Définvest, the Defense Innovation Fund, NewSpace Capital, the European Innovation Council Fund, Starquest Capital, and CAIVE.

 

This funding will enable Cailabs to increase its production capacity to up to 50 optical ground stations per year by 2027, strengthen its supply chain, and accelerate the development of its next-generation laser communication solutions.

 

It will also support Cailabs’ international expansion, already demonstrated by the recent enlargement of its U.S. office, and the diversification of its product offering, including turnkey 100+ Gbps solutions, transportable optical ground stations, and new orbital options.

 

Joffe & Associés advised Cailabs on corporate matters with a team composed of Thomas Saltiel and Camille Malbezin, partners, and Alexia Guyot, associate.

Joffe & Associés advised Socadif on its investment in Greenway, a French fintech that has developed the first “all-in-one” corporate card integrating expense management and ESG criteria, as part of a €32 million fundraising round, including €2 million in equity.

 

This transaction will enable Greenway to accelerate the adoption of its innovative solution in France and across Europe. The round brings together Socadif Capital Investissement, leading business angels, as well as a pool of institutional investors.

 

With these new financial resources, Greenway will be able to strengthen its teams to meet the growing demand from companies seeking to optimize their expense management. Its smart card centralizes payments, automates expense reporting, and integrates ESG indicators—addressing for the first time two major challenges for mid-caps and large corporations that were long considered irreconcilable: the rationalization of financial technologies and the integration of ESG considerations.

 

As part of this transaction, the Joffe & Associés team included Virginie Belle, partner, and Alexia Guyot, associate.

Joffe & Associés advised Starquest Capital and Maif Impact on the €5 million Series A fundraising of Les Nouvelles Fermes, a French pioneer in industrial aquaponics.

 

This transaction will enable the company to launch in Carrières-sous-Poissy the largest aquaponic farm in Europe. The 2-hectare facility combines trout farming with vegetable production in a closed-loop system, with an annual capacity of 250 tons of fruit and vegetables and 60 tons of fish. The technology uses seven times less water and generates twice fewer emissions than conventional agriculture.

 

Beyond this initial project, Les Nouvelles Fermes aims to deploy 15 sites across Europe by 2030.

 

The Joffe & Associés team advising on this transaction included Thomas Saltiel, partner, Charlotte Viandaz, counsel, and Antoine Danieck, associate.