Ardian backs CLS Group with €30m

Amy King
07 November 2013

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

Ardian, formerly Axa Private Equity, has invested €30m in CLS Group, a satellite-based environmental data provider.

The GP becomes the second largest shareholder in the company behind CNES, the government agency responsible for French space policy. Existing backer Ifremer, the French research institute for exploitation of the sea, also retains its stake.

Ardian aims to strengthen the group's resources and drive the firm's national and international expansion. An acquisitive growth strategy will be followed to consolidate the group's skill portfolio.

Company
Founded in 1986 and based in Ramonville Saint-Agne, south west France, CLS offers satellite services in location, environmental data collection and ocean monitoring. The firm is split into four business units: localisation and data collection, space oceanography, radar applications and telematics. Clients include government, industry and the scientific community.

The firm employs 500 people across 17 offices; is present in more than 100 countries and expects to achieve a €90m turnover in 2013. A turnover of around €160m and 700-person headcount by 2018 is the company's target, according to Laurent Germain, chairman of the board of CLS.

CLS reported double-digit growth in the last three years.

People
Baudouin d'Hérouville, Caroline Pihan and Arthur de Salins led the deal for Ardian.

Advisers
Equity – Paul Hastings, Pascal de Moidrey, Grine Lahreche, Pierre Kirch, Jérémie Gicquel (Legal); Arsene Taxand, Mirouna Verban, Alexandre Rocchi, Pierre Marchand (Tax); De Marcellus & Disser, Emmanuel de Marcellus, Juliette Disser, Clémence Descournut (Intellectual property); Candesic, Antoine Gelain (Commercial due diligence); EY Transaction Advisory Services, Emmanuel Picard, Gratien de Pontville, Renaud Regner, Martin Bignot (Financial due diligence); Sogeti High Tech, Thierry Justice (Insurance due diligence).
Company – Invest Securities, Raphaël Rossello, Virginie Clerjeaud-Lagrange (Corporate finance); Armand & Associés, Georges Civalleri, Ruppert Windeler, Perrine Klein (Legal); Deloitte, Jonathan Gibbons, Donatien Chenu, Fabien Mathieu (Financial due diligence).