New French GP Aldebaran holds first close for debut fund

Greg Gille
21 July 2021

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Aldebaran has held a first close for its first investment vehicle, Aldebaran Transformation Fund I, with a target of EUR 300m.

The amount of the first close remains undisclosed.

Aldebaran was founded in 2020 by Amélie Brossier, who prior to that worked at FCDE (Fonds de Consolidation et de Développement des Entreprises), a fund dedicated to the transformation of French businesses.

Brossier also has experience as an investment director with FSI (Fonds Stratégique d'Investissement), France's sovereign fund, which she joined in 2009. She was notably involved in the investment in video platform Dailymotion, including its merger with Orange in 2011. She has also been a principal with Cinven, working on deals including Numéricâble/Altice, Ziggo and Eutelsat.

The team also includes managing partner François Darpas, who will be in charge of the value creation team, and director David Kusters, who has notably worked at PE houses Alpha, Egeria and 3i. According to its LinkedIn page, the firm also employs Oscar Boisseau as an analyst. The team will be expanded after the first close, with a new partner already identified, the firm said.

Former Cinven senior partner Nicolas Paulmier is a senior adviser and chair of Aldebaran's investment committee.

Investors
The fund counts BPI France, the European Investment Fund, insurer AG2R La Mondiale and French entrepreneurs and family offices among its LPs.

Investments
Aldebaran targets investments in small and medium-sized companies with revenues ranging from EUR 20m to EUR 300m that may be facing underperformance or complexities related to their market, business model, corporate governance or balance sheet structure. The company's fundamentals do need to be healthy, the GP said.

Such complexity will usually be tied to a change in strategy, a complex carve-out, succession in a family-owned business or a transformative market consolidation, the GP said.

The fund will make direct investments of EUR 15m-60m and may selectively consider larger opportunities with co-investors. Aldebaran intends to secure majority stakes in management buyouts.

People
Aldebaran – Amélie Brossier (CEO and founding partner); François Darpas (managing partner).