Sagard, Isai back MBO of software firm Invoke

News portal Capital Finance claimed that the transaction valued the company at €50-60m.

The MBO was led by Invoke managing director Raphael de Talhouet and several employees of the company. Sagard deployed equity via Sagard NewGen fund, which was launched in July 2020 with a target of €300m. The fund held a first close at €150m in September 2020 and expects to hold a final close by the end of this year. Isai invested through its Isai Expansion II fund, which closed on its hard-cap in July 2018 with €150m. State-owned investment group BPI France provided unitranche financing and bought a minority stake in Invoke.

Sagard partner Guillaume Lefebvre said in a statement that the GP's plan was to pursue product innovation, expand the company with a particular focus on Benelux, the UK and the Nordic countries, and develop increasingly integrated software-as-a-service products. He added that the plan was to combine organic growth and M&A in France and Europe.

The transaction completion is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed later this month.

Company
Founded in 2001 and based in Paris, lnvoke is a B2B provider of specialised software for managing financial, tax and regulatory information. The company employs 140 staff and has additional offices in Luxembourg, the UK and Sweden. It generates revenues of €20m.

People
Invoke – Raphaël de Talhouët (managing director).
Isai – Pierre Martini (managing partner).
Sagard – Guillaume Lefebvre (partner).
BPI France – Johanne Destrés (investment director).

Advisers
Vendor – DDA & Company (M&A); Dechert (legal); Eight Advisory (financial due diligence).
Management – Callisto (corporate finance); Claris Avocats (legal).
Equity – Ayache (legal); KPMG Avocats (legal); KPMG (ESG & IP due diligence, tax).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Buyouts
• France
• Technology
• France
• Sagard Private Equity
• Management buyback