Ardian buys minority stake in Uptoo

The GP provided a €10m equity ticket, Unquote understands. The management team has retained a substantial majority in the business, Unquote has learned. 

Since 2015, the company's turnover has tripled, according to a statement by Ardian. The GP will help the company accelerate its growth, especially in terms of external acquisitions.

The Ardian Growth team is currently investing via its Ardian Growth II fund, closed on €230m in 2018. The fund completes both minority and majority acquisitions, providing equity tickets in the €5-25m range to digital businesses with a turnover of €5-100m.

Ardian declined to comment on the transaction. 

Company
Founded in 2005 and based in Paris, Uptoo is a platform that provides evaluation, recruitment and training for sales representatives and sales managers in the B2B sector. The business generates sales of €15m, Unquote understands. 

The business serves 3,500 companies and owns "Uptoo Jobs", a job search website for sales representatives. It currently employs 100 people across offices in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nantes.

People
Uptoo – Didier Perraudin (founder, CEO).
Ardian Growth team – Frédéric Quéru (director).

Advisers
Company – Armand Avocats, Georges Civalleri, Anne Rossi (legal).
Equity – Hogan Lovells, Stéphane Huten, Ali Chegra, Agathe Faict (legal); Mamou & Boccara, Laurent Mamou (tax); Crowe HAF, Olivier Grivillers, Thomas Corbineau, Julien Latrubesse (financial due diligence).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• France
• Support services
• France
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)