Keensight, Isai back Ividata MBO

The GPs are co-leading the transaction, and will both hold significant stakes in the business.

Keensight Capital partner Philippe Crochet said: "The opportunity was sourced in a proprietary fashion by Keensight Capital and Isai, which had a years-long relationship with the company's founder, ÉtienneAboulker." This sourcing strategy is often used by the GPs, due to their specialisation in specific sectors. "Most of Isai Expansion's portfolio companies were sourced on a one-to-one basis," said Pierre Martini, managing partner at Isai.

The GPs have previously co-invested on two occasions: backing Labelium in 2014 (and later sold to Qualium Investissement and Cathay Capital), and Theodo around a year ago.

The deal is Isai's first transaction via Isai Expansion II, which closed on €150m in June last year. The fund typically invests €5-30m in French technology and software development companies taking minority and majority stakes in its portfolio.

Senior debt for the transaction was provided by LCL and Banque Populaire Rives de Paris. The deal was deemed lightly leveraged by Keensight's Crochet and Isai's Martini.

The GPs intend to develop the business both with organic growth and via strategic acquisitions, both in France and abroad.

Company 
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Levallois-Perret, Ividata is a consulting group covering services related to big data. It provides services related to web development (Microsoft and Javascript, back and front-end application development), infrastructure (big data and cloud technology services) and the pharmaceutical industry (biometrics, biostatistics and clinical trials for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries), among other areas.

Danone, France Télévisions, La Poste, Sanofi, Societe Generale, Total and a group of pharmaceutical companies are clients of the business. The company generates a turnover of almost €40m and employs 250 people.

People
Ividata – Etienne Aboulker (CEO).
Keensight Capital – Philippe Crochet (partner); Javier Lopez Moras (investment director); Nicolas Ulrich (private equity associate); Guillaume Lefebvre (director). 
Isai – Pierre Martini (managing partner); Nicolas Martineau (managing director); Jean-Francois Rivassou, Cyril Petit (investment directors). 

Advisers
Company – Eurvad, Charles Guigan, Yassine Jnan, Martin Klotz (corporate finance); Cabinet Delsol, Henri-Louis Delsol (legal).
Equity – KPMG, Antoine Bernabeu (financial due diligence); Exelmans, Stéphane Dahan, Manuel Manas, Shenwei Xu (financial due diligence); Cabinet Arsene Taxand (financial due diligence); Cabinet Hoche, Grine Lahreche (legal); Cloudixio (commercial due diligence); Levy Conseil (commercial due diligence).

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