Ardian creates TimeOne via portfolio companies merger

José Rojo
14 January 2016

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Ardian, a minority shareholder in French online marketing specialists Public-Idées and Place des Leads since 2007 and 2012 respectively, has invested €5m to support the companies' merger into new group TimeOne.

The merger was facilitated by Ardian, which controlled minority stakes in both businesses prior to the deal.

The GP's holding in Public-Idées dates back to December 2007, when it bought a 20% stake in the business; founders Sylvain Gross, Pierre Rondelli and Fabien Barbaud kept the remaining 80%.

Meanwhile, Place des Leads became a portfolio company in September 2012, when Ardian, already acquainted with the management team, invested €3m in return for a minority stake.

The GP will deploy a fresh €5m via its growth arm to support a merger between both assets. Ardian will remain a minority shareholder in the new group, dubbed TimeOne, while the management team will control a majority stake.

The new business, representing a combined €50m in sales, will focus on online-based content and data marketing services and will work out of its France headquarters and offices in the UK, Spain, Italy, South Africa, Asia and South America.

Company
Founded in 2005 by Sylvain Gross, Pierre Rondelli and Fabien Barbaud, Public-Idées provides onine marketing services to advertisers, among other clients. Headquartered in Levallois-Perret, the business manages additional offices in Milan, Madrid, Cape Town, Sao Paulo and Mexico.

Meanwhile, Place des Leads runs a platform for marketing professionals to collect and qualify new customer leads. Founded in 2010 by Ralph Ruimy, Hervé Degauchy and Alexandre Aubry, the company has headquarters in Paris.

The combination of both businesses will lead to new online marketing group TimeOne, with an estimated €50m in aggregate revenues.

People
Ardian – Laurent Foata (managing director, head of Ardian Growth); Romain Chiudini (investment manager).
Public-Idées – Sylvain Gross (co-founder, CEO).
Place des Leads – Ralph Ruimy (co-founder, CEO).

Advisers
Equity – McDermott Will & Emery, Grégoire Andrieux, Diana Hund, Antoine Vergnat, Pierre-Arnoux Mayoly (Legal); Grant Thornton, Marc Claverie, Louis-Olivier Martin-Prevel (Financial due diligence).
Company – SB Avocats, Sacha Benichou (Legal).