News

Ardian agreed to acquire a share in Technology & Strategy, a European technology consultant, alongside current investor Dzeta Group. T&S managers also will invest in the company.

Press Release

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, announced today that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Dzeta Group, the investment firm, to acquire a share in Technology & Strategy (“T&S”), a European specialist in new technology consulting. Following the completion of the transaction, a number of managers from T&S will invest in the company.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Strasbourg, with strong French and German roots, T&S specializes in engineering, IT, digital and project management consulting in Europe, the United Kingdom and Southeast Asia, notably through its expertise in embedded systems. With 16 offices across six countries, T&S works closely with its clients to address a wide range of technological challenges. The Group has around 1,200 employees and operates in fast-growing niches in sectors such as automobile, healthcare, finance and luxury.

T&S has experienced strong organic growth of 46% p.a. since its inception in 2008, and has successfully completed several acquisitions. These include Antaes, technology consulting firm (Switzerland and Singapore) in 2014; Octelio Conseil, data-driven digital marketing specialist (France) in 2015; Arias/Maia, engineering consulting group (France); and Lormatech, industrial projects management consulting firm (France) in 2017. Following the strategic partnership with Ardian, T&S will continue to consolidate its presence in existing markets as well as developing its international footprint.

Jérémie Huss, Co-founder and CEO of T&S, said: “We are proud of the progress we have made with Dzeta and are now entering a new phase of our development. This strategic partnership with Ardian will allow us to target new geographies to carry out external growth.“

François Jerphagnon, Head of Ardian Expansion, added: “We are truly impressed with T&S’s strong track record since its inception in 2008. This acquisition is in line with Ardian Expansion’s strategy of partnering with ambitious companies seeking to expand outside their domestic market. This stands to be a promising partnership which will not only accelerate the Group’s growth, but also strengthen the management’s stake in T&S.”

Marie Arnaud-Battandier, Managing Director at Ardian Expansion, concluded: “Within 10 years, thanks to the quality of its teams, T&S has established itself as a leader in its market and has built a strong reputation thanks to its innovative approach. We are excited to begin working with the Group’s team whose entrepreneurship and ambitious vision mirrors the core values of Ardian Expansion.”

Claude and Grégoire Darmon, Founders of Dzeta Group, added: “We would like to warmly thank all the team of Technology & Strategy, congratulate them, and wish every success in this new adventure in which we are delighted to re-invest.”

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$82bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base. Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world. Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 550 employees working from fourteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo). It manages funds on behalf of more than 750 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

www.ardian.com

ABOUT TECHNOLOGY & STRATEGY

Technology & Strategy is a company founded in 2008. T&S specializes in engineering, IT, digital and project management consulting and works closely with its clients to address a wide range of technological challenges. T&S has also an integrated R&D center to follow market needs. People oriented and focused on excellence, T&S is a company which shares its expertise with a constant search for transparency. Technology & Strategy has learnt how to build trustful relationships with major clients of different sectors: notably industry, automobile and finance. T&S is a global company with a strong French and German root. The company defends an entrepreneurship model supported by its 1,200 employees, composed of 30 nationalities across 16 agencies and 6 countries (France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, United Kingdom and Southeast Asia).

www.technologyandstrategy.group/fr/

ABOUT DZETA GROUP

Founded in 2009, Dzeta Group specializes in the Mid Cap segment and takes majority stakes in European

Companies with strong growth potential. Dzeta Group, has completed around 20 investments since its creation in sectors such as services, distribution TMT and industry.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Ardian: Francois Jerphagnon, Marie Arnaud-Battandier, Arthur de Salins, Thomas Grétéré, Claire d’Esquerre

Legal and financing advisor: Latham & Watkins (Olivier du Mottay, Lionel Dechmann, Benedicte Large Brémond, Aurélie Buchinet)

Tax structuration: Delaby & Dorison (Emmanuel Delaby, Florian Tumoine)

M&A advisor to the buyer: UBS (Fabrice Scheer, Renaud Tochon)

Commercial Due Diligence: Accenture Strategy (Sébastien Amichi, Romain Le Guen)

Financial Due Diligence: Alvarez & Marsal (Frédéric Steiner, Simon Regad)

Legal, tax, social Due Diligence: Taj (Olivier Venzal)

Insurance Due Diligence: Satec (Pierre Le Morzadec, Stéphane Arseau)

Dzeta Group: Claude Darmon, Grégoire Darmon

M&A advisor to the sellers: DC Advisory (Eric Hamou, Frédéric Meyer, Xavier Souvras, Léa Cichowlas)

Legal advisor to the sellers: Cohen & Gresser (Muriel Goldberg-Darmon Johannes Jonas, Angeline Duffour, Guillaume Guerin, Antoine Philippe),

Legal advisor management: Scotto (Isabelle Cheradame, Magda Picchetto)

Legal advisor Dzeta’s reinvestment: Frieh associés (Emmanuel Scialom)

Financial VDD: Eight Advisory (Stephane Vanbergue, Edouard de Nettancourt)

Legal&Tax VDD: PwC Avocats (Jerome Gertler, Edith Baccichetti)