Pragma acquires Proprietés-Privées from Initiative & Finance

Although the deal value has not been disclosed, a source close to the deal said Pragma would become the majority shareholder with an 80% stake, the rest being held by the management team.

Pragma will acquire its stake from Initiative & Finance as well as founder Sylvain Casters. New shareholders will also include Michel Le Bras, who will act as president of the group and played a major part in the transaction, Pragma said. New members of the management team will also include Christine Cadrot as development director.

The transaction was made without leverage, and happened following a spontaneous offer from Pragma. The investment team indicated it also intended to refinance the group in the future as part of a buy-and-build strategy.

Pragma stated it would aim to support Proprietés-Privées in expanding and strengthening its position on the online real estate market.

Previous funding
In 2013, Initiative & Finance had invested as minority shareholder in the group alongside founder and director Sylvain Casters, who retained the majority of the company's share capital at the time.

Company
Founded in 2006 and based in Basse-Goulaine, near Nantes, Proprietés-Privées is an online-only real estate network bringing together around 600 independent freelance agents.

The group recorded a €15m turnover for 2015, almost three times the revenues posted in 2012.

People
Pragma Capital – Denis Catz (partner); Benjamin Zowczak (associate).
Initiatives & Finance – Arnaud Mendelsohn (associate director); François Golfier (charge d'affaires).

Advisers
Equity – ACA-Nexia, Hervé Krissi, Adrien Bauwens (financial due diligence); CMI, Nicolas Kandel, Francois Farhi, Francois Huguet (commercial due diligence); Cavaro Conseil, Christian Mergier (insurance due diligence, legal) ; HPML, Thomas Hermetet, Aurelie Bonsch (legal); Information Governance Consulting, Pierre Calvanese (IT due diligence).
Vendor – LB Avocats, Youna Le Bour-Feillard (legal); Luchtenberg Avocats, Damien Gorce, Jeremie Swiecznik (management due diligence).

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• Sparring Capital (formerly Pragma Capital)
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