Ardian backs Micropross

Micropross CEO Philippe Bacle and managing director Max-André Lepoutre reinvested to retain a majority stake in the business. The pair led a management buyout of the company in 2008.

The capital injection from Ardian will allow Micropross to further expand, predominantly in the area of contactless smart card payment solutions.

Last week, Ardian announced its intentions to acquire the Vinci Park division of French construction and concessions firm Vinci alongside Crédit Agricole Assurances for an enterprise value of €1.96bn. Ardian has a acquired 37.5% stake in the newco created to house Vinci Park's shares.

Company
Micropross was founded in 1979 and is based in Villeneuve d'Ascq. During its first 15-20 years, the company designed a range of products for the electronic instrumentation market. In 1997, Micropross began to focus on products for the smartcard industry across the contact, contactless and combi-technologies segments of the market.

The company offers testing solutions for microchips, smartcards, inlays and terminals for the smartcard industry, designed to allow customers to test the products under stress conditions and ensure compatibility with either contact or contactless technology.

The company generates approximately €20m in turnover and currently employs around 40 staff.

People
Philippe Bacle is the CEO of Micropross. Ardian's François Jerphagnon, Marie Arnaud-Battandier and Arthur de Salins worked on the deal.

Advisers
Equity – Latham & Watkins, Olivier du Mottay, Cyril Boulignat (Legal); KPMG, Ghislaine Duval, Olivier Boumendil, Elvire Jersal (Financial due diligence); Delaby-Dorison, Emmanuel Delaby (Tax); MGG, Marijke Granier-Guillemare (Social due diligence); DP Consulting, Dominique Paret (Strategic due diligence, market due diligence).
Company – EY, Rudy Cohen-Scali (Corporate finance); Vaughan, Antoine Denis-Bertin (Legal).
Management – Affectio Finance, Georges Charlet (Corporate finance).

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• Topics
• France
• Buyouts
• Technology
• France
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)