Ardian invests in Abvent

Alice Tchernookova
11 May 2017

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Ardian has taken a minority stake in Abvent, a Paris-based publisher and distributor of software for architects.

Ardian invested through the Ardian Growth arm – last year, the GP closed its latest growth investment vehicle, Expansion Fund IV, with €1bn in commitments. Twice the size of its predecessor, the vehicle typically commits investment tickets of around €50-60m with an initial investment capacity of up to €100m, taking majority and minority investments in companies valued at up to €225m.

Current portfolio companies for Expansion IV include Diam International, Ionisos, Lagarrigue and Schwind Eye-tech solutions, all acquired last year.

For Abvent, the transaction comes shortly after the launch of its building information modelling offer, the group said, and follow its acquisition of group Ka-Ra, a software publisher specialised in 3D visualisation. Ardian's support should enable it to keep expanding and make a few more additions to its structure.

Debt
A senior debt package provided by LCL, BNP Paribas and Caisse d'Epargne supported the transaction.

Company
Founded in 1985 by three French architects, Abvent provides image and design software to architects and construction professionals. The group claims to have developed a proprietary offer combining 3D visualisation software and project management solutions via building information modelling. It also distributes ArchiCad, a standard design and project management system for architects, in addition to Rhino 3D, Twinmotion, Artlantis and others.

Based in Paris, Abvent recently opened subsidiaries in Switzerland, the US, Luxembourg and Hungary. It has a network of distributors in around 80 countries at present.

People
Abvent – Xavier Soule (CEO).
Ardian – Alexis Saada (managing director); Bertrand Schapiro (senior investment manager); Marion Villalta (analyst).

Advisers
Equity – N Finance, Maxime Dugast (corporate finance); Lamartine Avocats, Fabien Mauvais, Gary Lévy, Camille Le Foyer de Costil (legal); Aca Nexia, Hervé Krissi, Adrien Bauwens (financial due diligence).