Acquisition of a controlling stake and take private of Artefact by Ardian, Cathay Capital and Artefact’s management team
FR
Sycomore Corporate Finance acted as lead financial advisor to Ardian Expansion as part of its acquisition of a majority stake and take private of Artefact
In December 2021, Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, announced the acquisition and take private of Artefact, a global service company that sits at the intersection of marketing, consulting and data science.
Artefact was founded in 2014 by Vincent Luciani and Guillaume de Roquemaurel. After rapid international expansion, Artefact established itself as a leader in data-driven business transformation, with the aim of creating value by bridging the gap between data and business.
Today, Artefact has a global network, with operations across the world in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa, and over 800 employees. The company has partnered with major brands such as L’Oréal, Danone, Sanofi Orange and also supports major international accounts across a range of sectors from FMCG, Retail, Luxury, Telecoms, Healthcare, Tourism and Industry including for example: Samsung and Unilever.
The new shareholders will support the group in its geographical expansion in Europe, Asia and the United States thanks to their global network and the significant resources that will be provided to the Group. Artefact will invest in an ambitious recruitment program for new talent with the aim of tripling its workforce by 2025, with already 500 recruitments planned for 2022. Finally, the Group will be an active player in the consolidation of the market by accelerating strategic acquisitions in a still highly fragmented data services market.
Rationale
Artefact is a next-generation end-to-end data services company specialising in data transformation and data & digital marketing, transforming data into impact across the entire enterprise value chain. Artefact’s unique approach, by bridging the gap between data and businesses, enables their clients to achieve their business goals in a dedicated and efficient manner. Their 800 employees combine multi-disciplinary skills to help companies innovate and grow. With cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence technologies and agile methods, Artefact ensures the success of clients’ AI projects, from design to deployment, training and change management. With 16 offices in Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America and Africa, Artefact partners with leading global brands such as Orange, Samsung, L’Oréal, and Sanofi.
Ardian is a world leading private investment house with assets of US$120bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base. Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.