Sparring Capital acquires a majority stake in Génie Flexion

Founded in 2001 by David Sarny, Génie Flexion is the second-largest French provider of on-site hydraulic hose repair services, with a leading position in Île-de-France and Hauts de France in addition to a presence in Normandy. Based in Villepinte and employing nearly 180 people, the group has built its development around a dual model, combining fourteen centres and a fleet of over one hundred intervention vans.

Thanks to this strong regional presence and its mixed model, which enables the group to be highly responsive to customers’ needs, Génie Flexion has experienced a sustained 10% growth per year over the last few years. The group currently generates revenue of almost €20 million across approximately 4,000 customers.

In an industry that remains fragmented, with a small number of regional or multi-regional players beginning to emerge, the partnership with Sparring Capital and Caisse d’Epargne Île-de-France Capital Investissement aims to give Génie Flexion the means to accelerate its growth, both by opening new centres and by joining forces with companies that share the group’s values and operating philosophy. This operation will also allow the strengthening of the group’s management team.

David Sarny, Chairman of Génie Flexion, said: “Sparring’s project will enable the group to continue its expansion thanks both to the experience of the men and women who have worked alongside me for many years, some of them since the founding of Génie Flexion, and to Sparring’s expertise in supporting growing companies and strengthening their management teams.”

Johann Le Duigou, Partner at Sparring Capital, added: “We are particularly enthusiastic about supporting Génie Flexion in pursuing its development and would like to thank David Sarny and his teams for their confidence. The partners involved in this transaction, financial shareholders and lenders (banking and mezzanine players), have organized themselves to effectively support the group in its growth strategy, which we will now focus on implementing, in collaboration with the management team and all the company’s stakeholders.”

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Key players:

Sparring Capital

Johann Le Duigou, Bastien Labry, Justine Roze

Caisse d’Epargne Ile-de-France CI

Ghislain Garnier

Senior Debt:

Loan coordinator, arranger and underwriter

Caisse D’Epargne Ile-de-France

Laure Ferrand, Sophia Laamarti, Cédric Alin

Participating Banks

SG

Erick Josef

BNPP

Caroline Soulignac

Mezzanine Debt:

Omnes Capital

Camille Delibes, Nicolas Noel, Cécile Ah-Fa

Sell-side MA Adviser:

Arcus Finance

Vincent Nègre, Clément Delporte

Buy-side MA Adviser:

Lincoln International

Arnaud Dudognon, Mathieu Nguyen

Buy-side Legal Adviser:

Moncey

Marie-Victoire James, Guillaume Giuliani, Eléonore Coquerel, Frédéric Bosc, David Malamed, Jonathan Devillard, Anastasia Fleury, David Maréchal

Sell-side Legal Adviser:

KPMG

Franck Bernauer, Pauline Fartaria, Vincent Berger, Hortense Bret

Legal Adviser to the Banks:

Agilys

David Kalfon, Samy Ayad

Legal Adviser to the Mezzanine Debt Provider:

PACT

Benjamin Dahan

Financial Buyer Due diligence:

8 Advisory

Bertrand Perrette, Jean-Baptiste Blanco, Rachid Sabr

Financial Vendor Due diligence:

Oderis

Julien Passerat, Sarah Foessel, Julie Michel

Strategic Buyer Due diligence:

Neovian Partners

Patrick Richer, Léonid Dorogoï

Buyer Due diligence – Insurance:

Marsh

Jean-Marie Dargaignaratz, Clara Not

Others:

Advance Capital

Arnaud Vergnole

Kerius Finance

Sébastien Rouzaire