XAnge, Turenne reap 2.4x on Conexance MD exit to WPP

Alice Tchernookova
11 July 2016

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XAnge Private Equity and Turenne Capital have exited Conexance MD to WPP, generating a 2.4x return multiple.

WPP has acquired 100% of the company's capital. Following the acquisition, Conexance will work closely with WPP's Data Alliance companies Wunderman, Kantar and GroupM.

The London-based advertising and marketing company acquires the group from management and from XAnge and Turenne – joint majority shareholders in the group since 2010. With the exit, the GPs have generated a 2.4x return multiple and an 18% IRR.

XAnge arrived as a minority shareholder in the company in 2006. In 2010, it reinvested in the company alongside Turenne Capital. That second round of funding had notably enabled the group to develop a number of new predictive technology tools, and to enhance its digital offer. Since then, the group claims to have achieved a steady double-digit year-on-year growth rate.

For WPP, the acquisition expands its digital offering in France and beyond. As a result of Brexit, the company seeks to place greater emphasis on growth in western continental Europe, its website reads, which includes four of its top 10 markets: Germany, Italy, France and Spain. In France, WPP companies currently generate revenues of €631m and employ 5,000 people.

Previous funding
In September 2006, Aurinvest and XAnge invested €400,000 in the first round of financing for Conexance. The company's founders had re-invested €100,000.

Turenne entered the group's capital in 2010, contributing to a €2m funding round.

Company
Conexance is a database marketing company providing proprietary statistical modelling to identify consumer behaviours and attributes to try and predict future purchases. It provides both online and offline services. Its database currently includes around 32 million customers.

Conexance was created in 2006, is based in Lille and Paris, and employs 40 people. It generated €5.9m of revenues in 2015.

Advisers
Vendor – Financière Cambon, Guillaume Teboul (M&A); Paul Hastings, Guillaume Kellner, Charlotte Pennec (legal); McDermott Will & Emery, Grégoire Andrieux, Noëmie Fort (legal) ; EY Transaction Advisory Services, Emmanuel Picard, Pierre-Guillaume Fayet, Mathieu Jaud de la Jousselinière (financial due diligence).