• Clipperton acted as special advisor to Capital Croissance and Adelie on the sale of their majority stake in Equativ (formerly Smart Ad Server) to Bridgepoint Development Capital in an MBO transaction.
  • Bridgepoint Development Capital has become the new majority shareholder of Equativ to support an ambitious buy-and-build strategy. Capital Croissance and Adelie reinvest as minority shareholders.

About Equativ

  • Founded in 2001, Equativ is a French company with an international dimension that provides technological solutions for managing online advertising (Ad Server, Supply Side Platform, Demand Side Platform) on behalf of advertisers and premium publishers.
  • Since its MBO at the beginning of 2021, Equativ has recorded robust growth, with net sales increasing from €36m to €92m and earnings increasing more than fivefold. This strong development has been driven both by the acquisition of DynAdmic in 2021 and by significant organic growth linked to the expansion of its technological offering (particularly on the advertiser side, in video and connected TV) and the acceleration of its activity in the US.

Deal Rationale

  • Two years after acquiring a stake in Equativ, Capital Croissance and Adelie sell their majority stake in the group to Bridgepoint Development Capital in an MBO transaction.
  • Bridgepoint Development Capital has become the new majority shareholder of Equativ to support an ambitious buy-and-build strategy. Capital Croissance and Adelie reinvest as minority shareholders.
  • Fabrice Fleury, Partner at Capital Croissance, stated: “With Equativ, Capital Croissance has achieved a new success story and the first sale of its Cairn Capital II fund. We are convinced of Equativ’s solid foundations, through a vertically integrated platform offering transparency and fairness, and are pleased to be involved with Bridgepoint in this promising new chapter.”

Clipperton’s extensive track record in PE advisory for tech businesses

  • This transaction illustrates Clipperton’s unique expertise in advising PE firms in their transactions with fast-growing companies, with 5 transactions completed in the past 18 months – including Ardian’s €330m take-private of Artefact, MBO & CO’s growth investment in Praxedo, or Merieux Equity Partners’ $150M investment in DentalMonitoring.