/News

At the Industrial Adventures seminar organised by the Paris-based management institute, l’Ecole de Paris du Management, and with the support of the UIMM, the l’Union des Industries et Métiers de la Métallurgie, Franck Boget, Azulis Capital’s Chairman, presented an overview of Private Equity’s contribution to French SME’s through the portrayal of a range of PE investments.

Our Middle Market Fund V has made its first investment in the healthcare sector, through Vivalto Vie, a family-owned group operating retirement homes in the Poitou-Charentes and Pays de la Loire regions in western France. This transaction has been structured as an LBO in which Azulis Capital will partner the Vivalto group directed by Daniel Caille.

The group, founded in 1986, has expanded locally and gradually grown into an independent regional operator, renowned for the quality of its institutions. To date there are 11 retirement homes (EHPAD) with 712 beds and places overall. On this expanding market, Vivalto Vie's management and investors have set themselves a goal: to grow the group’s services and geographical locations, mainly through acquisitions.

Européenne des Desserts has ramped up in the United Kingdom with the acquisition of The Handmade Cake Company, near London, with a £12 million turnover. The company, founded in 1983, specialises in frozen cakes using traditional English and American recipes. In doing so, EDD has continued its expansion in Britain, launched in 2013 with the acquisition of Speciality Desserts.

During the Sixth ‘Grands Prix de l'Économie’ award ceremony, organised by the French daily, La Tribune-Objective News, the Lagarrigue group was awarded a prize in the category Growing Company category. The event, held in Toulouse, was attended by more than 400 economic and political decision-makers. The Lagarrigue group continued to grow in 2014, taking over Ravier Touzard, a company located in both Reims and Gentilly near Paris.