Amundi, BPI France, Socadif invest €115m in Wifirst

Francesca Veronesi
12 September 2019

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

Amundi Private Equity Funds, BPI France and Socadif Capital have acquired a 55% stake in France-based Wifirst from the Bolloré Group, investing €115m in the internet access provider.

For Bolloré, the sale of the stake in Wifirst will generate around €115m in cash, and a consolidated capital gain of around €85m.

The GPs and the management team have wholly acquired the business, according to a statement.

Amundi PE used its Amundi Mégatendances vehicle for the transaction, closed on €250m in 2018, Unquote understands.

The new shareholders will support Wifirst in its organic development, for example by helping the business in entering new sectors, such as retail and healthcare, as well as in supporting its international expansion.

Wifirst had been owned by Paris Stock Exchange-listed Bolloré since 2006. The group manages activities in the transportation and logistics, communication, electricity storage and systems sectors, and generated revenues of €23bn in 2018.

Company
Founded in 2002, Wifirst is an internet access provider specialising in wifi technology, currently serving the hospitality and residences markets. The company supports professionals on their connectivity projects: wifi, fibre-optic, TV, Cast, voice over internet protocol (VoIP).

The business has shown an average growth of 30% per year over the past 10 years. Its wifi platform operates 600,000 connection points. Wifirst generated revenue of €50m in 2018.

Headquarters in Paris, the business has offices in London and Barcelona.

People
Wifirst – Marc Taieb (founder).
Amundi – Romain Bled (managing director).
BPI France – Samuel Dalens (investment director).
Socadif Capital Investissement – Luis Batista (investment director).

Advisers
Equity – Invest Corporate Finance (corporate finance); Paul Hastings (legal); Accuracy (financial due diligence); Monitor Deloitte (commercial due diligence).
Vendor – Hottinguer Corporate Finance (corporate finance); PwC Transaction Services (financial due diligence); PwC Societe d'Avocats (legal); Taj (legal); Scotto & Associes (legal).