Capza launches €500m Expansion Fund

Alessia Argentieri
01 February 2021

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Capza has raised €500m for its new Expansion Fund to support French SMEs in their post-crisis recovery and relaunch.

The fund will be managed by Guillaume Basquin and Frédéric Chiche, who have been appointed as partners and co-heads of Capza Expansion.

They join a team composed of three investment directors: Marion de Bonneville, Thibault Chatagnon and Roxane Pauquet. In addition, a new associate has already been recruited and will join the team in March.

Investors
The fund is entirely financed by Axa France.

Investments
Capza Expansion targets investments in French mid-cap companies to support their relaunch and expansion in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The fund is dedicated to companies operating across all sectors, owned by families or management teams, with the aim of supporting their growth, either organically or through acquisitions, while strengthening their capital structure.

The vehicle invests tickets of at least €15m per transaction, following a tailor-made approach, which combines investments in equity, quasi-equity and a wide range of non-dilutive financial instruments.

The fund has already made two investments. Alongside InnovaFonds, it backed French concrete producer Béton Solutions Mobiles (BSM), providing equity and quasi-equity. As part of the deal, Entrepreneur Invest, which has backed the company since its inception, has renewed its investment in bonds. In addition, a financing has been set up with the participation of partner banks, which have previously supported the company. The deal will enable BSM to benefit from €70m in financing, including more than €30m dedicated to investments, which will be deployed within the next 12 months. With sales of €110m in 2020 and 130 employees, the group operates 21 concrete batching plants for the manufacture of ready-mixed concrete, mainly in the Paris region.

Capza Expansion also backed communication networks specialist Sogetrel, investing in the business as part of a consortium led by Andera Partners. The deal saw Latour Capital fully exit its investment in the company. In addition to Andera and Capza, the consortium also included Luxempart, BNP Paribas Développement and Idia Capital Investissement (via its LCL Croissance Fund).

People
Capza Expansion – Guillaume Basquin, Frédéric Chiche (partners, co-heads).