Activa acquires Rhétorès, Cap Fidelis

Wahida Ahmed
03 February 2022

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France-based private equity firm Activa Capital has acquired wealth management firms Rhétorès Finance and Cap Fidelis to form a new group.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The founders of Rhétorès remain majority shareholders, with Activa becoming the first financial minority shareholder of the firm. The founder of Cap Fidelis, Thierry Rocq, reinvested in the newly established group alongside his family.

According to a press release, this deal will allow employees of the group to become shareholders with the implementation of the capital gains redistribution contract established by French law Plan d'Action pour la Croissance et la Transformation des Entreprises (PACTE – Action Plan for Business Growth and Transformation).

Speaking to Unquote, Activa partner Christophe Parier said the company was acquired through a limited auction at the beauty parade stage and the deal was structured via a newco with unitranche provided by Apera Capital.

The partnership will support the growth ambitions of the two businesses. The GP plans to be ahead of the consolidation phase in the financial advisory market, which it believes is underway, according to a press release. Parier told Unquote: "This market is very fragmented in France so it is great for consolidation."

Activa is currently investing through Activa Capital IV, which was launched in March 2020 with a EUR 200m target and a EUR 250m hard-cap, according to Unquote Data. The fund held a first close in March 2021 on EUR 100m, as reported.

Parier said Activa IV held a second close last month on EUR 122m. The fund will make 10-12 investments that will support management buyouts of B2B French companies with enterprise values of around EUR 20-100m, deploying equity tickets of around EUR 10-30m, and a maximum of EUR 60m in co-investments.

Parier said this deal is the fourth investment from the fund. He said the fund will likely close this year and is on its way to reaching the EUR 200m target. The fund is 40% deployed and adopts the same strategy as its predecessor. Parier said the fund will make primary buyouts in the technology, healthcare and financial services sectors, and will typically retain minority shareholdings in its consolidation strategy.

The deal pipeline is strong, according to Parier. He added that they will announce another two deals in the next few months.

Company
Paris-based Rhétorès Finance was founded in 2011 by Stéphane Rudzinski and Grégory Soudjoukdjian. The business has a financial advisory focus that includes wealth engineering services and private equity.

Cap Fidelis was founded in 1992 and is based in Lille. The family business operates in the wealth management space in northern France.

Parier said the companies have combined assets under management of EUR 450m, and employ 20 people.

People
Cap Fidelis – Thierry Rocq (founder).
Rhétorès Finance – Stéphane Rudzinski, Grégory Soudjoukdjian (founders).
Activa Capital – Christophe Parier, Alexandre Masson, Frédéric Singer, Camille Emin (partners).

Advisers
Equity – Eight Advisory (financial due diligence); CMI Stratégies (strategic due diligence); Moncey Avocats (legal); Degroux Brugère (legal); Walter Garance (legal); De Pardieu (legal).