Ayming joins forces with Andera Partners to accelerate its development alongside the management team

Paris, January 20, 2025 – Ayming, a global leader in professional services, specializing in innovation financing in France and internationally, as well as HR management in France, announces the entry of Andera Partners as a majority shareholder through its Andera MidCap 5 fund. This strategic investment, carried out in partnership with the management team led by Hervé Amar and Denis Blanc and supported by EMZ, shareholder since 2022 and reinvesting in this new cycle, aims to drive the group’s strong growth by accelerating its international development through targeted acquisitions and expanding its service offerings.

A Strategic Player Operating in High-potential Markets with a Global Footprint

Over the years, Ayming has built robust and strategic positions around its core activities in France, particularly in innovation and R&D financing as well as in social commitments management. The group has pursued a strategy of both organic diversification and targeted acquisitions to expand into high potential international markets. Today, Ayming operates in 14 countries across Europe and North America. The group has also diversified its service offering with innovative solutions such as ESG services, managed HR services/software, and the “IP Box,” unlocking new growth levers.

A Player recognized for its Premium Positioning and Technical Expertise

Ayming stands out for its dual positioning: a strong expertise in consulting services combined with tech-enabled services (proprietary software and tools). This combination strengthens the group’s reputation for delivering sustained and high-quality service (multi-year contracts) across geographies. Renowned for its technical proficiency and long-term project execution, the group enjoys an excellent reputation among clients and continues to gain market share worldwide.

A New Chapter with Andera Partners

Andera Partners joins forces with the management team, who is reinvesting significantly in the transaction, alongside EMZ, who remains a minority shareholder. The objective of this new partnership is to double the group’s revenue and EBITDA within five years, through a mix of strong organic growth and targeted international acquisitions, particularly in the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany. The ambition is to strengthen the group’s position in these strategic markets, replicating the recent successful acquisition of Astolfi in Italy in 2024. The group will also continue to diversify its service offering to leverage new growth levers.

To support these ambitions, the group has secured new financing from Pemberton Asset Management, alongside a dedicated acquisition facility to sustain the expansion plan.

This transaction is still subject to regulatory approval with a closing expected by the end of Q1 2025.

Hervé Amar, Chairman and CEO of Ayming Group, and Denis Blanc, General Manager, stated:
“We are delighted to welcome Andera as our new majority shareholder. Their expertise and vision, aligned with our values of excellence and innovation, will help us accelerate our development and deliver an even better client experience. With this partnership, Ayming’s 1,500 employees are fully supported to carry out the change of scale and deploy our premium strategy globally. This decision reinforces our ambition to consolidate our leadership position in our core markets and pursue sustainable growth. It’s an exciting milestone for our teams and clients alike.”

François Carré, Managing Director, EMZ, added: “When we partnered with Hervé Amar and Denis Blanc in 2022, Ayming was at a pivotal moment. We found a highly committed team focused on reigniting the group’s development and eager to strengthen its equity stake. This energy and alignment have led to remarkable development over the past three years. The acquisition of Astolfi in Italy at the end of 2024 was the culmination of this journey. Andera’s arrival builds on this momentum and will further accelerate the group’s international expansion. We are thrilled to continue this journey alongside the management team, Ayming teams, and Andera Partners.”

François-Xavier Mauron, Partner, and Aurélie Owona, Investment Director, Andera Partners, commented: “We are very pleased to support Hervé Amar, Denis Blanc, and their management team in this new development cycle. Ayming perfectly illustrates Andera MidCap’s investment strategy: a seasoned and ambitious leadership team accelerating their development both in France and internationally, supported by a robust, scalable, and diversified business model. We will actively support the group in its international development, particularly through targeted acquisitions.”

About Ayming

As a professional services company, Ayming partners with businesses and institutions around the world to unlock lasting value, year after year. Translating complex policy into opportunities, while managing the transformation that comes with growth. Our team is over 1,500 experts in Innovation, HR, Taxes and ESG. We have specialised knowledge and decades of experience in international and local policy across 14 countries. Our premium services create new possibilities for investment. And our approach goes beyond consulting, collaborating in the field with clients of all sizes and sectors. So we can deliver tangible results driven by trust – now and for years to come.

learn more at: www.ayming.com

About Andera Partners

Created almost 25 years ago, Andera Partners is a major player in private company investments in France and internationally. Its teams manage €4.3 billion in investments in life sciences (Andera Life Sciences), growth and buyout capital (Andera MidCap, Andera Expansion/Croissance, Andera Co-Invest), sponsorless transactions (Andera Acto) and ecological transition (Andera Infra).

Andera Partners’ mission is to work alongside companies and their managers to support them in achieving strong and sustainable growth. The quality of performance offered to our investors relies on a strong partnership between the entrepreneurs in our portfolio companies and our teams, based on shared values. Performance through collective engagement, the “Power of And”, constitutes Andera Partners’ DNA.

Based in Paris, with offices in Antwerp, Madrid Milan and Munich, Andera Partners counts 115 professionals, of which 72 investment professionals.

About EMZ

With offices in Paris and Munich, EMZ Partners is an independent investment firm specializing in supporting mid-sized companies.

EMZ partners with experienced founders and managers of well-established SMEs, who invest significantly in the transaction in exchange for a well-balanced governance and a value-sharing system that fully recognizes everyone’s contribution.

Boasting around twenty investment professionals, the EMZ team has supported the financing of over 160 transmission and growth operations (including external growth, industrial investments, etc.) since 1999, representing a cumulative total of €5.0 billion. Its scope of activity spans France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, with investment tickets ranging from €10 million to €200 million.

Advisors

Advisors to Ayming Group Shareholders

Management: Hervé Amar, Denis Blanc, Xavier Boetsch, Jean-François Gross

EMZ: François Carré, Charles Mercier, Juliette Moisan

M&A : D&A Corporate Finance (Jean-Marc Dayan, François Dubourg, Mélissa Beignon, Manon Devanneaux)

Corporate and Tax lawyers: Paul Hastings (Sébastien Crepy), Serge Cohen, Mayer Brown (Benjamin Homo)

Vendor Financial Due Diligence: Odéris (Thomas Claverie, Clément Tastet)

Vendor Legal, Tax and LabourDue Diligence: KPMG (Franck Bernauer, Pauline Fartaria, Julie Bellesort, Delphine Capelli, Caroline Chapuis, Anne Laure Benoist, Olivier Masi, Camilla Spira)

Advisors to Andera Partners

Andera Partners: François-Xavier Mauron, Antoine Le Bourgeois, Aurélie Owona, Albane Richard

Corporate and Tax lawyers: Volt (Emmanuel Vergnaud, Stéphane Letranchant, Gamliel Senoussi, Gontran Souweine, Camille Dumas, Kevin Danga, François Jubin)

Finance and M&A advisors: Amala (Nicolas Royer, Jad Sader, Louise Cornevin)

Financial Due Diligence: Alvarez & Marsal (Cedric Zana, Louis Darrieus, Guillaume Descamps, Lucas Bernard, Gregory Pereira)

Commercial and Strategic Due Diligence: CMI Stratégies (Nicolas Kandel, Bastien Hontebeyrie, Florent Rebel, Nicola Virgata, Clément Joyaux, Théo Monfouga, Marion Donadio)

Legal, Tax and Labour: PwC Société d’Avocats (Eric Hickel, Jean-Philippe Brillet, Bernard Borrely, Antoine Avril, Sarah Dezes, Hélène Struve, Youlia Haidous, Valérie Aumage, Nolwenn Vignaud, Pauline Darnand, Alix de Ginestet, Emma Stearns, Hannes Scheibitz)

ESG Due diligence: PwC (Bernard Borrely, Antoine Avril)

Finance

Pemberton : Guillaume Goarin, Guillaume Farges, Florent Martel, Lucas Dorigny, Geoffroi de Saint Chamas

Legal : Goodwin (Charlotte Mouradian, Alexander Hahn)

Contacts

Contact Ayming :

Giuditta Villa

Communication Director

+39 3395273939

gvilla@ayming.com

PR Contact Ayming:

Aurélie Aknin