Category Archives: News

4Service and NetNordic have made three add – on acquisitions

Norvestor

4Service Gruppen AS (“4Service”), majority owned by Norvestor VII, L.P.,has signed
agreements to acquire Resco AS (“Resco”) and Mint Renhold AS (“Mint”). With these two acquisitions, 4Service will strengthen their presence and offering within Facility Service, and will amplify the profitable growth.

Oslo,6 July 2017 4Service and NetNordic have made three add-on acquisitions 4Service Gruppen AS (“4Service”), majority owned by Norvestor VII, L.P.,has signed agreements to acquire Resco AS (“Resco”) and Mint Renhold AS (“Mint”).

With these two acquisitions, 4Service will strengthen their presence and offering within Facility Service, and will amplify the profitable growth. Resco is a provider of cleaning services in the greater Oslo area, and represents an expansion into the high-end office building segment. Mint is also a provider of cleaning services, providing geographical expansion into the greater Trøndelag – region as well as strengthened presence in the Oslo region.Estimated 2017 revenues for Resco is c. NOK 65 million and NOK 120 million for Mint.

NetNordic has entered into an agreement to acquire Intelecom, strengthening its position as the leading system integrator of network, security, communications and cloud solutions in the Nordic enterprise market.

Intelecom is a leading Norwegian supplier of network and communications solutions. The
company has a long history and a leading position with large enterprise customers, with focus on the verticals offshore, public/governmental and hospitality. Intelecom has roots back to Alcatel Business Systems in 1990 and later mergers with Consorte and Carrot. With this acquisition, NetNordic will be passing one billion NOK in revenues, increase its competence in strategic verticals, and strengthening its platform for further growth.

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Ardian arranges £50m Unitranche to refinance Lyceum’s Bellrock and fund acquisition plan

London, July 6th 2017 – Ardian, the independent private investment company, today announced the arrangement of a Unitranche financing facility to refinance Bellrock, a leading facilities management and property services provider. The facility will also fund Bellrock’s acquisition of Profile Consultancy Limited (“Profile”), and includes a committed debt facility to further support Bellrock’s expansion plans.

Bellrock was formed in 2000 as SGP Property Services. It provides facilities and property management, and other associated services, to a large blue chip customer base spread across a broad range of sectors and disciplines, including education, healthcare, and retail & leisure, in both the public and private sectors. Backed by Lyceum since 2013, the company has been a leading player in the technology-enabled service management space.

Profile, jointly based in Bedford and York, is the UK’s leading service charge expert, and currently manages £250 million service charges per annum on behalf of its corporate clients in the retail and leisure sector. Profile’s services add to the corporate occupier offering provided by Bellrock, following last year’s acquisition of Property Solutions. Bellrock is now the leading independent provider of service charge management to corporate occupiers in the UK, making it the partner of choice for all tenant service charge requirements.

Following five successful add-on acquisitions in 2016, completed together with investor Lyceum Capital, this latest acquisition is the single biggest investment to reinforce Bellrock’s technology-driven facilities management and property management service offering. Bellrock’s acquisition strategy will be further supported in the future by Ardian through committed and uncommitted financing facilities.

Olivier Berment, Co-Head of Ardian Private Debt and Managing Director, said: “Bellrock is an innovator in its sector with its focus on tech-enabled services to support the property management needs of its commercial customers. Add-on acquisitions will continue to form a key part of Bellrock’s growth strategy, so we are excited to offer flexible financing to enable this, and help the team realise its ambitious growth plans.”

David Smith, CEO, Bellrock, added: “Profile is a highly skilled outfit and a perfect fit for Bellrock, which now has a reputation as the leading tech-enabled facilities management and property services provider in the UK. We are delighted to bring Ardian on board as a new partner to help drive our ambitious growth strategy, as we continue our organic expansion as well as acquiring additional businesses that further complement our product suite.”

Adam Lewis, Investment Director at Lyceum Capital, added: “The last 12 months have been transformational for Bellrock. During this time David and the team have successfully created a market leader in property and facilities management. We continue to see huge potential for the business.”

ABOUT BELLROCK

Founded in 2000, Bellrock supplies a range of managed facilities and property services under long-term contracts to a blue chip client-base spanning the healthcare, education, corporate and retail sectors. The company uses its own facilities management technology platform to plan, report and analyse trends, which helps its customers operate and manage their estates more efficiently. The Company oversees or delivers c.1million facilities management jobs per annum.

www.bellrock.fm
ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian, founded in 1996 and led by Dominique Senequier, is an independent private investment company with assets of US$62 billion managed or advised in Europe, North America and Asia. The company, which is majority-owned by its employees, keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and delivers investment performance to its global investors while fuelling growth in economies across the world. Ardian’s investment process embodies three values: excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship.

Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 460 employees working through twelve offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore and Zurich. The company offers its 580 investors a diversified choice of funds covering the full range of asset classes, including Ardian Funds of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Ardian Private Debt, Ardian North America Direct Buyout, Direct Funds (Ardian Mid Cap Buyout, Ardian Expansion, Ardian Growth, Ardian Co-Investment), Ardian Infrastructure, Ardian Real Estate and customized mandate solutions with Ardian Mandates.

www.ardian.com

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Comtravo, the AI business travel platform raises €8.5 million in Series A round

Berlin, July 6th, 2017. Comtravo closed an €8.5 million Series A financing round co-led by Berlin-based VC Project A and Swedish VC fund Creandum. The AI business travel platform makes booking and managing business trips as simple as sending an email. With the new funding, Comtravo will accelerate their product development and open the door for future international expansion.

Comtravo’s software translates text requests such as email into structured queries using natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence technology to provide the best travel options for individual travelers based on specified preferences as well as previous booking behavior. This way, users can quickly book personalized offers with one click directly in the email.

For small- and medium-sized companies, which account for two thirds of the global business travel market, Comtravo offers an easy-to-use and cost-efficient solution to manage business travel with the additional benefit of a centralized billing system.

“Comtravo is combining the best talent in the space with cutting-edge technology and excellent execution. A perfect mix to tackle a market with huge potential for disruption,” says Anton Waitz, Partner at Project A. “We have been using the product for more than a year and we love it.”

Simon Schmincke, Principal at Creandum adds: “We were immediately convinced by the idea and the implementation. Much of the innovation that already exists in the leisure travel market is still missing in the business travel market. Comtravo has the strongest team in artificial intelligence and travel technology to revolutionize business travel.”

Focusing on research and development in the last year and a half, Comtravo’s technology has evolved to the point that more than 35% of the travel requests are processed fully automated. Experienced travel experts constantly train the software and ensure a superior customer experience. Comtravo combines the services of a classic travel agency with the efficiency of online tools.

“It makes no sense at all that very well-trained travel agents are concerned about simple standard requests, as it is the case in many classic travel agencies. Thanks to our technology, our agents on average need one third of the time that is required in a fully manual process,” explains Michael Riegel, CEO of Comtravo. “At the same time, Comtravo is able to bundle the demand of small- and medium-sized companies to negotiate better conditions for its customers like a purchasing group.”

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Ardian acquires stake in Sarbacane Software

Ardian acquires stake in Sarbacane Software

Paris, 4 July 2017– Ardian, the independent private investment company, today announces the
acquisition of a minority stake in Sarbacane Software , the leading email and digital marketing software
publisher for small businesses in France and Europe.

Founded in 2001 by current CEO Mathieu Tarnus, Sarbacane Software provides simple and efficient
digital marketing software solutions to over 10,000 customers around the world.
Over the past three years, the company has undergone a major period of investment which has allowed it
to consolidate its two established brands – “Sarbacane” in France and “Mailify“ abroad. The Company
also broadened its range of solutions with an SMS marketing tool “Primotexto”, an interface helping
software publishers and webmasters manage transactional emails “Tipimail”, and most recently a solution
for the WordPress community “Jackmail”.

Sarbacane Software CEO and founder Mathieu Tarnus said:

“ We have invested significantly in the business over the past three years. To accelerate our growth, it was important that we choose a partner with a strong understanding of the issues relating to international growth as well as the challenges
associated with expanding our product range. Given the team’s track record and entrepreneurial
approach, Ardian Growth was the obvious choice of part ner for us.”
In addition to Ardian’s expertise in supporting growth-oriented companies as well as providing support
via its extensive network, the partnership will enable the Sarbacane Software management team to increase
its international footprint, particularly across Spain, where the group already has a local presence. This
investment will also allow Sarbacane Software to seize build-up opportunities for further growth across
Europe.

Ardian Growth Director Geoffroy de La Grandière said:

“In the changing email marketing sector, Sarbacane Software has made its mark as an important
independent player developing solutions and expanding internationally, using a strong growth mo
del delivering double-digit returns.” Ardian Growth Senior Investment Manager Bertrand Schapiro
added: “Our knowledge of the digital marketing industry and the broader economic environment in sout
hern Europe will enable Sarbacane Software to continue accelerating its growth in the SMB market.”

ABOUT SARBACANE SOFTWARE

Sarbacane Software was founded in 2001 and has established itself over the past 15 years as a leader in email
and digital marketing in France and Europe. The company is managed by Mathieu Tarnus and is based in Hem,
near Lille, with offices in Barcelona and New York. It has 80 employees and over 10,000 customers worldwide.
Sarbacane Software has delivered double-digit growth since its creation. The company is targeting €20
million within the next three years and is aiming to become one of the top three European companies in the sector.

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian, founded in 1996 and led by Dominique Senequier, is an independent private equity company with
assets of US$62bn managed or advised in Europe, North America and Asia. The company, which is majority- owned by
its employees, keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and delivers investment performance to its global inves
tors while fuelling growth in economies across the world. Ardian’s investment process embodies three values: excellence,
loyalty and entrepreneurship. Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 450 employees working
through twelve offices in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid, Zurich, New York, San Francisco, Beijing,
Singapore, Jersey, Luxembourg. The company offers its 580 investors a diversified choice of funds covering the full
range of asset classes, including Ardian Funds of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Ardian Private
Debt, Ardian Buyout (including Ardian Mid Cap Buyout Europe & North America, Ardian Expansion, Ardian Growth
and Ardian Co-Investment), Ardian Infrastructure, Ardian Real Estate and Ardian Mandates.

www.ardian.com

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Eurazeo invests in Iberchem,a global lead in fragrances & flavors producer

Eurazeo

Eurazeo, a leading global investment company listed in Paris, is pleased to announce the acquisition
of Iberchem, a global producer of fragrances and flavors addressing national and regional brands in
emerging markets, for an enterprise value of €405 million. Eurazeo will invest c. €270 million to
become the majority shareholder (c.70%) alongside the existing management team. The transaction

will close later in July.

Headquartered in Murcia (Spain) and selling in more than 100 countries, Iberchem has a unique and
particularly fast-to-customer business model, with strong local sales & development
teams and 11 manufacturing facilities across the world including in Spain, China, Indonesia, Colombia
and Tunisia. Iberchem serves the Hygiene and Personal Care (“HPC”) industry through its fragrances
division and the Food and Beverages (“F&B”) industry through its flavors division, Scentium.

Thanks to a very diversified customer base of more than 3,400 customers, mainly leading
local and regional consumer brands, Iberchem benefits from the growth of the world’s
population as well as the rise of the middle class in emerging market countries to drive its superior organic growth.

Since its creation in 1985 by Ramon Fernandez, its current CEO, Iberchem has enjoyed a solid and uninterrupted double-digit organic growth. From 2012 to 2016, sales grew by 18% per annum. As of May 2017, the company generated LTM sales of 117m€, c. 25m€ of EBITDA and c.23m € of EBITA.

Eurazeo will support Iberchem’s management team in the next phase of the development of the
company while preserving its unique DNA as the leading supplier of value for money fragrances and
flavors ingredients for local brands in the emerging markets.

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EQT VII to acquire leading mobile filtration technology provider Desotec from AAC

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  • EQT VII to acquire Belgium based Desotec, a European market leader in mobile industrial filtration technology, from AAC Capital Partners
  • Desotec has pioneered the market for mobile activated carbon filters and has achieved strong top-line growth over the past decade
  • EQT VII to support Desotec on its continued growth and transformation journey by investing in the commercial organization and supporting further international expansion

The EQT VII fund (“EQT VII”) has entered into an agreement to acquire Desotec (or “the company”) from Private Equity firm AAC Capital Partners and other minority owners.

Founded in 1990, Desotec has pioneered the market for the purification of liquids and gases through mobile activated carbon filters. During its more than 25 years in business, the company has established itself as a European market leader in this field. Desotec provides a filtration technology that enables its customers to comply with increased environmental regulations and sustainability requirements and to serve mission-critical filtration needs offering a flexible rental solution.

The company operates three state-of-the-art reactivation furnaces with a combined annual total capacity of around 12,400 tonnes of output. In addition, it has a fleet of around 1,500 mobile filters. Desotec has achieved an average annual top-line growth of 16% over the past decade and in 2016 generated approximately EUR 50 million in sales. Desotec has 110 employees.

“We are very excited to have EQT as our new owner and look forward to working together closely. EQT’s industrial approach, global presence and broad network will be of great value to Desotec as we embark on our next phase of growth. We believe that EQT’s entrepreneurial spirit will be play an important part in our future success”, says Desotec’s CEO Mario Hertegonne.

Kristiaan Nieuwenburg, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VII, says: “We are impressed by the high quality of Desotec’s management and operations. The company has a true market leading position in the mobile filtration market, which it has successfully built over the past decade. We look forward to supporting the management team to expand into new markets and continue to invest in further growth”.

Marc Staal, Managing Partner at AAC Capital, says: “During our investment period we expanded Desotec’s footprint throughout Western-Europe resulting in an annual EBITDA growth of 17.5%. Together with Mario Hertegonne and his team we implemented a comprehensive market strategy, developed new applications through innovation and opened a third state-of-the-art reactivation furnace. We are confident that Desotec will continue to flourish under its new ownership and we wish the business and all its employees every success in the future”.

The transaction is expected to close in August 2017. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction value.

Contacts:
Kristiaan Nieuwenburg, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VII, +31 20 262 4001
EQT Press office, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 37 billion in raised capital across 24 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About Desotec
Desotec is a leading European provider of mobile filtration technology through a unique and circular service concept. The company is headquartered in Roeselare, Belgium, and has established a pan-European platform with strategically located service centers in Spain and Poland and a workforce of 110 employees.

More info: www.desotec.com

About AAC
With offices in Amsterdam and Antwerp, AAC is a leading Benelux mid-market buy-out firm, which has to-date completed 31 management buyouts. It targets opportunities for majority stakes in profitable, cash-generative companies headquartered in the Benelux. AAC’s deal size is typically between €10 and €150 million. AAC is a growth-oriented investor, with such companies in its portfolio as Verasol, Corilus, Lubbers Transport Group and Hobré Instruments.

More info: www.aaccapital.com

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Digital workspace innovator RES Software to be acquired by Ivanti

Gimv

Digital workspace innovator RES Software to be acquired by Ivanti

RES Software, a digital workspace software company focused on improving the consumption of IT services through secure, automated workspace and identity provisioning, signed an agreement with US based Ivanti, a global leader in integrating and managing the IT digital workplace.

RES Software (www.res.com) was founded in Den Bosch (The Netherlands) in 1999. The company has grown from a start-up company into a global market leader in the field of user workspace management. RES‘ flagship offering addresses user environment management and identity governance across physical, virtual, and cloud environments via its converged platform. Their capabilities for bulk provisioning and de-provisioning user accounts will combine with Ivanti’s process automation to help IT organizations more effectively automate onboarding and off-boarding processes.

Since Gimv’s initial investment in spring 2010, RES expanded fast geographically in Europe and later on also in North America, the customer base grew significantly and revenues tripled. Today RES is operating in 27 countries with a team of over 250 people and counts about 2 500 customers worldwide. The acquisition by Ivanti aims to empower the company in extending its automation capabilities to a larger pool of applications, platforms and databases.

“We thank Gimv for the valuable and professional partnership, not only for giving us financial support but for their expertise enabling our company to grow into an international software player as well,” said Bob Janssen, Founder and CTO at RES. “Today, we are excited to continue that journey within the Ivanti organization.”

Elderd Land, Partner at Gimv and board member of the company comments: “Originated in the Netherlands, RES has developed into a global player, thanks to its superior technology and visionary skills of its management team. We thank the RES team for the great cooperation over the past years and we are proud having been able to be part of this successful international growth story.”

The transaction is expected to close shortly. Over the 7 year holding period, this investment generated a return in line with Gimv’s long-term average return, with no major impact on the equity value at 31 March 2017. No further details about this transaction will be disclosed.

 

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IK Investment Partners to support Third Bridge

IK Investment Partners (“IK”), a leading Pan-European private equity firm, is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap I Fund has reached an agreement with the founders and the management team to acquire a minority stake in Third Bridge (or “the Company”), a fast-growing primary research provider with a global footprint. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Third Bridge provides its clients with unique insights into companies and markets through access to industry experts and market research. Serving a client base of over 300 customers, including private equity funds, consulting firms, hedge funds and corporates, Third Bridge has a global footprint, with six offices covering America, Asia and Europe. Since inception in 2007, the Company has doubled its turnover every two years, and now employs more than 550 people.

The Company’s strong growth has been supported by growth capital investor Beringea, which provided funding through its ProVen VCTs in November 2012. Under the agreement, Beringea will sell its shares in Third Bridge.

“As a client of Third Bridge, our paths have crossed many times, and we have always been very impressed by the Company and the exceptionally experienced management team. We share their values and vision for growth, and as a minority partner, we are proud to support the continued development of Third Bridge’s business model and expansion of the service offering,” said Pierre Gallix, Partner at IK Investment Partners and advisor to the IK Small Cap I Fund.

“Third Bridge has seen fantastic growth over the last 10 years, and the support from IK will enable us to maintain this strong performance, and bring us closer to our vision of being the first port of call for investors seeking the best intelligence. We are excited about working with the IK team, who share our ambitions and have a stellar reputation for supporting founder-led businesses,” said, Emmanuel Tahar, CEO and co-founder of Third Bridge.

Completion of the transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approvals.

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3i to invest c.$136m in Cirtec Medical


3i Group plc (“3i”) today announces that it has agreed to invest c.$136m in Cirtec Medical (“Cirtec”), a leading provider of outsourced medical device design, engineering and manufacturing. 3i will invest alongside management.

Cirtec is headquartered in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota and has been in operation for over 25 years. It operates three facilities across the United States and has over 400 employees.

The company specialises in outsourced solutions for active implantable devices in the areas of neuromodulation, drug delivery, cardiac rhythm management, ventricular assist and minimally invasive devices. Customers rely on Cirtec’s expertise to provide value-add solutions throughout the entire development cycle to help bring life-enhancing therapies to market.

Cirtec has an attractive customer base mix comprised of both traditional blue-chip OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and fast growing start-up companies.

The medical device outsourcing (MDO) market is expected to grow at a high single digit rate over the next five years, as medical device OEMs increasingly focus on core competencies of R&D and commercial initiatives. Cirtec is strategically positioned to serve the most attractive therapeutic end-markets that are set to grow at a rate beyond the broader MDO industry.

Richard Relyea, Partner at 3i, US commented:

“We are pleased to announce our investment in Cirtec. We look forward to working with the management team to build upon this strong platform for growth, in particular, leveraging our local presence and network to help accelerate the company’s expansion.”

Brian Highley, CEO, Cirtec added:

“We look forward to partnering with 3i. We feel that their approach, sector understanding and international reach makes them the right partner to support the next stage of our growth.”

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Mirabaud Asset Management launches Private Equity Business

Paris, 4 July 2017 – Mirabaud Asset Management has expanded its offering, which already covers several asset classes, to include a new growth industry: the private equity business. To implement this strategy, Mirabaud Asset Management has enlisted the services of Renaud Dutreil, former French Minister of Small & Medium-Sized Businesses and former Chairman of LVMH North America; he will be supported in this remit by Luc-Alban Chermette. This is the first fund dedicated to entreprises du patrimoine vivant (living heritage companies) and was launched today with a first closing of 50 million euros.

In line with the entrepreneurial approach of the Group, which was founded in 1819, Mirabaud Asset Management aims to be an innovator in the private equity business. An initial theme-based fund dedicated to entreprises du patrimoine vivant in the luxury and lifestyle sector has been successfully launched today. An initial transaction of 50 million euros was closed with the participation of top-tier private and institutional investors. Located in Paris, the team in charge of implementing the private equity strategy is headed up by Renaud Dutreil, Head of Private Equity with Mirabaud. The second and final closing of this new fund is scheduled for the end of the year on a total amount of 150 million euros.

This new offering will enable family-run SMEs that have been active not only in France but also in Switzerland, Italy and other European countries for at least 50 years to receive assistance for their international development and their innovation strategy. This assistance will be provided not only in the form of investment, but equally in strategic, legal, managerial, marketing and business advice to promote economic growth.

A successful launch

Lionel Aeschlimann, Managing Partner of the Mirabaud Group and CEO of Mirabaud Asset Management, is excited about the implementation of the private equity strategy. “It is extremely satisfying to develop a sector of activity in which we have bold ambitions and which suits us. In addition, in Renaud Dutreil we have found a top-quality professional who through his international experience, his creditability within the economic fabric of French and European SMEs, and his passion for the world and spirit of entrepreneurship will help us to offer our clients – families, entrepreneurs and institutions – first-class solutions in the field of private equity. This first theme-based product dedicated to patrimoine vivant has attracted a great deal of interest and the success of the second and final closing is already taking shape.”

For Renaud Dutreil, “the Mirabaud Group has all the characteristics investors are looking for: an international presence on a human scale, a clear and specialized positioning, a proactive management approach, a passion for investing, entrepreneurship and the business world in general, a real long-term vision, and a DNA that puts excellence and the alignment of interests at the heart of its value chain. For Luc-Alban and myself, working with Mirabaud and its almost 200 years of family and entrepreneurial history in the world of management and investment was the obvious choice. The industrial living heritage has always been my passion. In my time as Minister I was instrumental in the creation of the entreprise du patrimoine vivant label. As an investor I am determined to give these European flagships all the necessary means for a successful future.”

Renaud Dutreil, former Minister of Small & Medium-Sized Businesses, Commerce, Consumer Affairs, and Crafts and Liberal Professions within the French government (2002–2007), was Chairman of LVMH North America for four years. He has solid experience of private equity in the areas of SMEs, both within France and internationally. This experience comes from his role on the Board of Directors of the L Capital Europe fund for several years, from his responsibility within the LVMH group, and from the investments he has made in a private capacity. Within the scope of his former government functions, Renaud Dutreil was instrumental in the creation of the entreprise du patrimoine vivant label – www.patrimoine-vivant.com – as well as the Dutreil Acts facilitating the financing and transfer of SMEs in France.

Luc-Alban Chermette has over 15 years of experience in the field of private equity, involving more than forty transactions assisting SMEs of all sizes, often with excellent knowledge in a wide range of business areas. One of Luc-Alban Chermette’s most noteworthy roles was as Chairman of La Vélière Capital, a management company registered with the Financial Market Authority, between 2010 and 2016.

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