News

News

Press release

Paris, December 3rd 2020: Sparring Capital is bringing Kapi and Novae together through a primary operation, alongside their management teams and their founders. This is the second investment for Sparring Capital Fund 2 vehicle.

Sparring Capital announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the companies Kapi and Novae, major players in electrical engineering for French military camps in foreign operations.

Initially involved in housing electrical works, Kapi and Novae have gradually positioned themselves as reference partners for the Ministry of the Armed Forces in providing electricity to French forces in foreign operations, one being specialized in power generation and the other in high voltage power transmission and distribution, both in life-base. Simultaneously to their civil activities, they have developed over the years a strong know-how in designing equipment and providing critical services in complex environments.

Together, the two companies post revenues of around 25 million euros and have some 100 employees.

Alongside with the management teams, Sparring Capital aims at pursuing and accelerating the development strategy initiated over the last years, in a context of growing outsourcing of « non-fighting » functions of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. The newly formed Group will thus be able to draw on its new shareholder’s prior experience in the field of Defense to address the changing needs of its partners. This operation will also strengthen the management team with the arrival of Mr. Emmanuel Chopin as Chairman of the new entity.

Mr. Emmanuel Chopin, Chairman of the Group, states« The arrival of Sparring Capital and the strengthening of the teams, including the recruitment of a new CEO in charge of business development, will enable the new entity to further consolidate its relations with the French army, guarantee the long-term quality of its services and accelerate the diversification of its offers to meet our client’s expectations. We would like to thank the founders for giving us the opportunity to pursue, by their side, the dynamic of the development they have been orchestrating throughout the history of Kapi and Novae. »

Mr. Johann Le Duigou, Partner at Sparring Capital, adds« We are very enthusiastic to accompany Kapi and Novae in this new stage of their development and we are thankful to the founders and all the operational teams for their confidence. This operation will provide the Group with all skills and support it needs to meet its development challenges in the coming years. »


Deal Participants:
Financial sponsor:

Sparring Capital (Johann Le Duigou, Benjamin Zowczak)Senior banks:
Caisse d’Epargne Ile-de-France (Cédric Alin, Nabil Salhi)
BNP Paribas (Guillaume Redaud, Etheldreda Grandchamp des Raux)
Crédit du Nord (Sandrine Adam, Christophe Sancier, Xavier Bolivard)

Mezzanine lender:
Bpifrance Investissement (Johanne Destrés, Timothée Dubois, Pierre-Yves Denez)
CIC Private Debt (Nicolas Offroy, Antoine Guerillon)

Sellers M&A advisor:
Wilson Jackson (Jérôme Choupin)

Investor legal counsel:
Desfilis (Guillaume Giuliani, Marie-Victoire James, Eléonore Coquerel, Frédéric Bosc, Mathilde Cotillon, David Malamed, Jonathan Devillard, Anastasia Fleury)

Sellers legal counsel:
Agilys (Baptiste Bellone, Madalina Suru, Carolle Thain-Navarro, Sophie Auvergne)

Management legal counsel:
Jeausserand Audouard (Alexandre Dejardin, Faustine Paoluzzo)

Senior banks legal counsel:
Volt Associés (Alexandre Tron, Morgane Le Gallic)

Mezzanine lender legal counsel:
Simmons & Simmons (Colin Millar, Iva Parvanova, Antoine Venier)

Buy-side financial due diligence:
Exelmans (Stéphane Dahan, Manuel Manas, Guillaume Rohmer)

Buy-side strategic due diligence:
Archery Consulting (Marc Durance, Benjamin Alle)

Buy-side insurance due diligence:
Marsh (Jean-Marie Dargaignaratz, Betul Ekici)

Other buy-side advisor:
Grant Thornton (Sylvain Quagliaroli)

Recruiting agency:
Selescope (Stéphane Beder)