Capital Croissance buys majority stake in Cathay's Smart AdServer

Harriet Matthews
29 January 2021

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Capital Croissance has backed the MBO of France-based online advertising business Smart AdServer in a deal that will see previous majority investor Cathay Capital retain a minority stake in the business.

Capital Croissance will own a majority stake, while the management team is to increase its stake in the business from 8% to 15%, according to a statement.

Idinvest and Adelie Capital also participated in the MBO.

Following the buyout, Smart AdServer intends to continue its international expansion, with a focus on the US market. The company acquired Germany-based LiquidM in December 2019 as part of its international growth strategy.

Capital Croissance is currently deploying equity via its K2 Business Club vehicle, which held a final close in May 2019 on €200m. The fund deploys equity tickets of €15-50m and focuses on French SMEs in non-cyclical sectors such as IT, logistics and luxury goods.

Cathay Capital wholly acquired Smart AdServer from the Aufeminin group in February 2015 in a deal that valued the company at around €37m. Cathay invested via its Cathay Capital II and Sino-French Fund, according to Unquote Data. The fund held a final close in June 2012 on €187m and generally invested €5-20m in companies based in France and China.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported in December 2017 that Cathay Capital had mandated Messier Maris to lead the sale of Smart AdServer, which was expected to be valued at around €70m at the time. Mergermarket later reported that the sale process had gone quiet.

Company
Founded in 2001 and based in Paris, Smart AdServer is a digital advertising management platform for publishers and media organisations. The platform aims to allow organisations to control their advertising channels and formats in order to manage their advertising revenues.

Smart AdServer reported 2020 revenues of €140m, compared with €14m in 2015. The company employs 260 staff, according to its website.

People
Smart AdServer – Arnaud Créput (CEO).
Capital Croissance – Cédric Boxberger, Fabrice Fleury (partners).