BPI France buys 5% Parrot stake for €33m

Having listed with a €23.5 share price on the Paris stock exchange in June 2006, Parrot was trading at €20.06 per share with a €249m market cap as of 25 November 2015.

BPI France's investment comes as part of a capital increase for the business, which announced plans to raise €299m via the placing of 17 million new shares earlier in the month.

The offer, restricted to French investors, was set up by Natixis and BNP Paribas as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners; HSBC and JP Morgan were also joint bookrunners.

The capital increase will see Parrot's co-founder and CEO Henri Seydoux remain the largest shareholder in the business with a 40.69% stake, up from a previous 36.21%.

Acquiring Parrot shares alongside Seydoux will be BPI France and China-headquartered VC IDG Capital Partners, which secured a respective 5% and 1.4% stake in the business. Both firms have entered a 180-day lock-up period as part of the agreement.

BPI France drew equity from its €600m Large Venture fund; the vehicle was used by the firm for previous large-scale investments such as the €100m round for network operator Sigfox in February.

Following the capital increase, Parrot intends to bolster its position within the commercial drone segment. The company plans to dedicate 30-35% of the €299m raised to its build-up strategy, followed by investments in its marketing, innovation, commercial drones ecosystem and support efforts.

Previous funding
Parrot is no stranger to French venture capital firms. According to unquote" data, the company first received €550,000 in seed capital from Sofinnova Ventures in 1996. In 1998, Seventure, then called SPEF Venture, was the main investor during a €2.7m second round alongside Entreprises en Croissance and Sofinnova.

This was followed by a €5.4m third round led by Sofinnova and Valeo Ventures in 2000 and a €12m fourth investment led by EPF Partners in January 2005. The deal marked a partial exit for Seventure and Sofinnova and the entrance of new shareholders CIC Capital Privé and SGAM Private Equity alongside EPF.

In June 2006, as Parrot listed on the Paris stock exchange, the consortium of VC backers sold part of their stakes and retained a joint 25% holding in the business.

Company
Founded in 1994, Parrot manufactures wireless products such as connected objects, civilian drones and hands-free communication systems for cars.

Headquartered in Paris, the company is active across all continents and employs 900 staff worldwide. In 2014, the business posted close to €244m in turnover, 55% and 34% of which came from its automotive and drone sales, respectively.

People
BPI France was represented by Maïlys Ferrère, who heads up its Large Venture arm, as well as investment director Nicolas Herschtel, legal director Sophie Paquin and project managers Charlotte Corbaz and Antoine Izsak. In addition, a representative of the firm will join Parrot's executive board. The company was co-founded by current CEO Henri Seydoux.

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