Pop and Cubik Partners are joining forces under the aegis of Sparring Capital in order to form a national group specialised in operational excellence consulting and training.
Co-founded in 2007 by Olivier Cornut, Cubik Partners has quickly established itself as a major player in the support of intermediate-sized companies as well as large corporates in the continuous improvement of their processes, notably through the most extensive offer of certifying training courses on the market.
Bringing together nearly 50 consultants based in Paris and Nantes, the new group is positioned as the independent national leader in lean management consulting and training, enabled to address a wide range of clients: SMEs, intermediate-sized companies and large corporates, involved in industrial or tertiary activities.
Following Sparring’s acquisition of a majority stake in Pop in May 2021, this first merger results in a new player generating nearly €15m of turnover. It is a founding stage in the operational excellence consulting consolidation project led by the management. The latter also insists on their objective of pursuing the acquisitions programme, mentioning discussions that are already ongoing.
Olivier Cornut, the group’s new Chairman, says: “We are very enthusiastic about this merger, which was natural for all parties involved in the project. Through its size, the Pop – Cubik group will gain agility and power in a growing market, and will be able to offer services bringing further value to its customers. We will now focus on the emergence of a common brand and the continuation of the operational excellence consulting consolidation project, with opportunities being considered that will allow the newly formed entity to further expand its geographic coverage and service offering.”
Eric Desgages and Frédéric Stoll, founders of Pop, say: “A new story begins, and with the support of Sparring Capital, we expect it to further continue through a strategy of diversifying services offered to clients and strengthening the group’s position as a true national leader in its sector.”
Alexandre Beau, Sparring Capital’s Principal, adds: “The merger between Pop and Cubik was a top priority in the project construction for Sparring, and we are delighted to entrust the chairmanship of the group to Olivier Cornut, supported by a strong management team. Our objective is to pursue the external growth strategy that should enable the group to quickly reach €30-40m in turnover.”
Deal Participants:
Sparring Capital:
Alexandre Beau, Bastien Labry, Arnaud Leclercq
Pop:
Eric Desgages, Frédéric Stoll, Lorette Buys
Cubik Partners:
Olivier Cornut, Camille Durr, Yves Merel, Mathilde Waeber, Florence Coquet, Manuel Jarry, Christophe Seguin
Senior Banks:
CIC Ouest (Bruno Nesti)
Cubik Partners M&A advisor:
Sevenstones (Elodie Le Gendre, Pierre Louette)
Cubik Partners legal advisor:
Coblence (Alexandre Brugière)
Investor M&A advisor:
NFinance (Maxime Dugast)
Investor legal advisor:
HPML
Corporate: Thomas Hermetet, Aurélie Bonsch, Anastasie Leconte, Ilias Dahou
Tax: Nicolas Privat
Investor financial due diligence:
Squareness (Frédéric Meunier, Antoine Suderie)