With 350 employees and sales of €27 million, Phenix Groupe - one of France's market leaders in outdoor advertising and the No. 1 independent group in the sector - has finalised a €10 million fundraising deal with Crédit Mutuel Equity.

Phenix will use the proceeds from the deal to finance its rapid growth, in particular new display networks and digital screens in city-centre locations, continue with strategic acquisitions and calls for tenders, and finance its investment in technology.

The company's status means that Crédit Mutuel Equity (formerly CM-CIC Investissement) can make a lasting commitment to investing in Phenix as a long-term shareholder with reinvestment capacity of €5-100m.

Sébastien Romelot, Chairman of Phenix Groupe, comments: "We are very pleased to announce the success of this deal - the largest since the group was created in 2013. This fundraising deal, motivated by strategic considerations, will enable us to pursue growth opportunities in the outdoor advertising market, which presents strong potential and in which we are one of the market leaders in France. We are delighted to be welcoming a high quality institutional investor to Phenix."

"We were impressed by the steps taken by Phenix Groupe since its takeover in 2012, which would never have been possible without the quality of its management team. We are very proud to become Phenix Groupe's major shareholder and intend to support it in its ambitious growth strategy, particularly in digital display advertising, which should constitute a major growth driver for the group," states Stéphane Vermot-Desroches, Senior principal at Crédit Mutuel Equity.

The majority of the group's share capital is still owned by chairman Sébastien Romelot. The transaction took the form of a capital increase reserved for the new investor. This makes Crédit Mutuel Equity Phenix's largest shareholder alongside the group's longstanding financial backers Saint Mihiel and Audacia.

Investor

Crédit Mutuel Equity

Investor advisors

  • Legal : Lamartine Conseil - Investor Advisor and corporate DD (Maxime Dequesne, Cindy Nlem, Pierre Lagresle); tax DD (Stéphane Buffa); social DD (Charlotte Moreau)
  • Financial DD: EY (Emmanuel Picard, Guilhem de Montmarin, Benjamin Poissonnier)
  • Strategic DD: Alban Neveux, Iska Pivois, Pauline Lombard
Phenix Groupe

Company and shareholder advisors

  • Company - Financial : DC advisory (Stéphane Benouaich, Martial Dargent), Legal : Linklaters (Vincent Ponsonnaille, Edwige Berger)
  • Shareholders - Financial : Clearwater (Thomas Gaucher), Legal : STC Partners (Delphine Bariani)

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