Idinvest et al. in €15m round for Save

According to unquote" sources, Idinvest and 360 Partners each secured a minority stake in the business. 

Deploying equity alongside the duo was entrepreneur Xavier Niel, the co-founder of VC Kima Ventures.

Having established a presence in Switzerland and Sweden, Save intends to use the fresh capital to enter markets such as the UK, Belgium, Spain and Portugal by year-end. The startup is looking to support the expansion by increasing headcount from its current 300 to 600 before 2016.

Save's total operations have reportedly experienced a monthly 20% growth recently. Further development is expected for its France base; the business estimates that 12% of the 20 million smartphones and 6 million tablets sold in the country every year will require maintenance services.

Speaking to unquote", a source close to the deal said Idinvest had been acquainted with Save's founder Damien Mori since the company's foundation. The firm had also come to hear of the business when it was accelerated by platform TheFamily, also an Idinvest portfolio company since January 2015.

This is the third technology company to receive backing from Idinvest recently, according to unquote". In late August, the GP joined a $45m series-D for storage specialist Scality alongside Omnes Capital, Iris Capital, Galileo Partners, Menlo Ventures and BPI France's Digital Ambition Fund.

This was followed by a unitranche facility supplied to retail software developer Bimedia, acquired by Omnes Capital and A Plus Finance alongside the management team last week.

Idinvest's recent activity follows the appointment of Verena Romero Frychel and Guillaume Durao as investment directors for the firm's teams dedicated to venture and debt, respectively.

Company
Founded in 2013 as Save My Smartphone, Save rebranded in 2015. The company offers maintenance and repair services for smartphones and tablets and claims to have fixed more than 150,000 devices since foundation.

Headquartered in Paris, the business employs 300 professionals across 78 sales points in France and abroad. According to reports, the company will generate €2m in revenues in the month of September, up from the €200,000 posted in January 2015.

People
Benoist Grossmann, managing partner at Idinvest, led the deal for the GP. Damien Morin is the founder of Save.

Advisers
Equity – Orrick (Legal); Jones Day (Legal); 2C Finance (Financial due diligence).

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• Topics
• France
• Expansion
• Consumer
• France
• IDInvest Partners (AGF Private Equity)