Carlyle sells Companeo to Towerbrook-backed Infopro Digital

French B2B digital platform Infopro, which has been backed by Towerbrook since its acquisition from Apax France and Altamir in 2016, is aiming to build up a market leader in the digital B2B lead generation space. 

The deal comes less than a year after Infopro acquired a number of titles from the former owner of unquote", Incisive Media. 

Previous funding
CETF II, a €530m 2008-vintage fund, originally backed the buyout of Companeo in July 2010, following a limited auction process run by Lazard. Carlyle had proactively approached the company before the auction began, according to unquote" data.

The value of the original deal was not disclosed, though it was understood that CETF II acquired a significant majority stake. Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and LCL provided a senior debt package to support the acquisition.  

Company
Founded in 2000, Paris-based Companeo is an online B2B lead generator, enabling SMEs and other clients to receive quotes from suppliers. It is present in 17 countries and has generated 10 million qualified leads for its 5,000 official suppliers in Europe to date.  

Infopro offers multimedia products and services, from software and databases to events and published products.

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• Topics
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• Carlyle Group
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