ACOLAD acquired by NAXICAP PARTNERS

Acolad Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Amplexor, executing a transformative consolidation within the global language services and content management industry. The tie-up creates an international heavyweight, with the combined group's headcount set to surpass 2,000 employees globally. Strategically, the transaction significantly expands Acolad’s geographic reach into the United States, Eastern Europe, and the DACH region, while unlocking immediate cross-selling opportunities by embedding Amplexor’s advanced digital experience solutions into Acolad's network. Post-merger, the unified group is projected to generate combined revenues exceeding €270 million for the 2020 financial year. The executive leadership will be spearheaded by Acolad's Chairman Benjamin du Fraysseix and CEO Olivier Marcheteau, with Amplexor's CEO Mark Evenepoel supporting the strategic transition. The closing of the transaction remains subject to customary antitrust clearances and regulatory approvals.

This transaction involves a secondary LBO whereby Qualium Investissement has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a majority stake in Acolad from Naxicap Partners, concluding a formal sale process managed by Lazard. The financial engineering of the transaction features a balanced governance and equity structure: while Qualium secures a narrow capital majority, Acolad’s CEO, Benjamin du Fraysseix, alongside his family, executes a substantial equity rollover, effectively retaining ultimate voting control within the newly formed holding structure. On the debt financing side, the transaction is backed by a fully underwritten unitranche credit facility co-provided by the company's incumbent lender Idinvest and Barings. Reflecting the target’s enhanced operational scale following its strategic cross-border bolt-on of Dutch language specialist Livewords—which positions the group to reach a projected EBITDA of 32 million euros—Qualium is considering syndicating a portion of its equity commitment to co-investment minority partners. The post-closing industrial roadmap is geared toward accelerating an aggressive pan-European consolidation strategy within a fragmented 20 billion euro addressable market, specifically driving organic growth across the high-margin corporate interpretation segment.

Acolad group finalized the 100% acquisition of the Dutch company Livewords from the private equity fund Bencis, which had held the asset since spring 2016. This major cross-border build-up transaction enables the acquirer to establish a direct presence in the Netherlands by absorbing the target’s three local offices and 180 employees. Financially, this combination propels the group past the symbolic milestone of 1,000 employees worldwide, with a projected pro forma revenue of over €160 million for the year 2019, significantly scaling up from the €37 million revenue recorded by Livewords in 2018. The strategic industrial rationale of the transaction is anchored in strong commercial complementarities. Livewords brings extensive expertise in the interpretation segment—accounting for 45% of its total revenue, whereas interpretation represented only 5% of Acolad's business—along with proprietary software tools such as Livewords GO and Livewords Flow. To fund this large-scale acquisition, the buyer secured an additional unitranche debt investment from its existing lender Idinvest, supported by Barings. Concurrently, Acolad’s majority shareholder Naxicap is running a separate auction process managed by Lazard to sell its stake, an upcoming corporate transition in which the management team led by CEO Benjamin du Fraysseix is expected to reinvest significantly.