Paris, 17 mars 2021 : INFRANEO, an engineering group specialised in infrastructure asset management, announces the acquisition of the ESIRIS Group, a key player in soil engineering, laboratory services and structural engineering.
The new entity, named INFRANEO, will employ nearly 400 people and generated a revenue of around €45m. It will be directed by Bruce XISTE, who was appointed President of Groupe GSRI following the arrival of SPARRING CAPITAL as the group’s majority shareholder in 2018. The executive committee will be expanded to include ESIRIS’ key managers, with Sébastien PAJON – President and founder of ESIRIS – supporting the new management committee in the integration of teams and operations.
With ESIRIS Group, a network of 10 agencies in France, INFRANEO will be able to provide a full range of services to support its customers in all stages of maintenance and monitoring of their facilities throughout their life cycle. INFRANEO will have leading positions in soil engineering, water networks, buildings and mobility infrastructures.
The acquisition of ESIRIS Group, which is the second build-up operation since the arrival of SPARRING CAPITAL, is a major step in the management and the shareholders’ project to make INFRANEO a leading player in Europe in infrastructure life cycle optimisation. Following the recent expansion of the group’s activities in Belgium and Spain, other acquisitions are currently being considered to support this European ambition.
Bruce XISTE, Chairman of Infraneo declared: “The merger with ESIRIS is an important step in our development strategy and allows INFRANEO to become a leading player in soil engineering, diagnostics, inspection and testing services. Additionally, both companies share the same values of proximity, responsiveness and quality of service.”
Sébastien PAJON, Chairman of Esiris Group, said: “This merger will enable our companies to respond even better to their customers’ needs. The complementary nature of our companies will guarantee success.”
Arnaud LECLERCQ, CEO of Sparring Capital, added: “The acquisition of ESIRIS Group positions INFRANEO as a key player in infrastructure asset management engineering, a fast-growing market that will consolidate to meet customers’ needs. The growth prospects of the new entity, both organically and through acquisitions, are very exciting.”
Deal Participants:
Acquirer:
Infraneo (Bruce Xiste, Jérôme Garnier)
Financial sponsor:
Sparring Capital (Arnaud Leclercq, Benjamin Zowczak, Diane Perrin-Pelletier)
Senior banks:
Crédit du Nord (Yvan Mathieu, Ahlem Jaafar, Audrey Woirgard)
BNP Paribas (Kévin Lechartier, Paul Mortier)
Caisse d’Epargne Ile-de-France (Cédric Alin, Maxime Moysan)
Buy-side M&A advisor:
White Capital Advisory (Florent Solviche)
Buy-side legal counsel:
Reed Smith (Marc Fredj, Guillemine Berne, Fernand Arsanios, Guillaume Chaboureau, Benoit Bernard)
Sell-side legal counsel:
De Guillenchmidt & Associés (Thierry Pairon, Antonin Teissedre)
Senior banks legal counsel:
De Pardieu (Christophe Gaillard, Thibaut Lechoux)
Buy-side financial due diligence:
Oderis (Thomas Claverie, Maxime Girard, Louis Templier)