Warning was founded in Lyon in 1993 by Eric Bonnac and is now is one of France's leading players in the last-mile logistics market. It is raising funds following its last acquisition, that of Paris Express Services in 2015. With Croissance Partenaires as its advisor, the Warning group is planning to accelerate its growth and pursue an active acquisitions policy both in France and internationally.

Warning is a pure-play transport company that offers a high level of service. Its business consists of distributing spare parts for the automotive sector, along with home delivery services, mainly for large-scale food retailers. Warning has grown quickly, both organically and through acquisitions. In 2016, its turnover is set to reach €26.8 million, and it has around 20 locations across France. The company has a fleet of over 500 vehicles carrying out 10,000 deliveries per day on average, and it currently employs almost 700 people.

"Crédit Mutuel Equity's (formerly CM-CIC Investissement) equity investment forms part of a build-up strategy that is intended to diversify our business by acquiring new businesses that fit with our last-mile logistics activity, and also to extend our footprint both in France and abroad," said Eric Bonnac, Chairman and CEO. "The investment will strengthen our equity base and help us to speed up our growth by supporting our ambitious acquisitions policy. We are currently looking at several targets," he added.

"Warning operates in a market that is very promising because of new consumer habits and, through our investment, we want to support it as it seeks to increase revenue to €100 million in the next five years. The management team is dynamic and experienced, and has shown great agility in repositioning the business as the market has evolved, enabling it to seize growth opportunities," explained Alexandre Beroud, Principal at Crédit Mutuel Equity.

About Croissance Partenaires

Croissance Partenaires, founded in 2005, is an M&A and corporate finance boutique specialising in the small and mid-market segment, i.e. transactions with a deal value of between €10 million and €150 million. Its clients consist mainly of small and medium-sized businesses. It advises them on preparing and carrying out strategic financial transactions, both domestically and internationally - i.e. fundraising, disposals, M&A, leveraged transactions (OBO, LBO, MBO etc.) and financial restructurings - and also provides strategic advice. Every year, Croissance Partenaires advises on transactions with total deal value of between €150 million and €300 million.

To find out more, visit www.croissancepartenaires.com

Investor

Crédit Mutuel Equity

Investor advisors:

  • Due diligence - financial and accounting: KPMG (Hervé Richard, Gueorgui Gueorguiev)
    Legal: Duteil Avocats (Edouard Eliard, Benoit Lespinasse)
    Due diligence - company law and corporate: Duteil Avocats (Edouard Eliard, Benoît Lespinasse)
    Due diligence - tax: Fidal (Benjamin Lichtle, Valérie Dakowski)
    Due diligence - economic law: LexCase (Hubert de Boisse, Anne-Sophie Uccello-Jammes)
    Due diligence - workforce-related: Fromont Briens
    (Mathieu Hugueville)
Warning group
  • Eric Bonnac, Chairman and CEO

Company advisors:

  • Financial: Croissance Partenaires (Charles Huyghues Despointes, Pierre Miallot)
  • Legal: Quadratur (Gilles Fresel)

Contact us

Contact us
Write to us