BLACKSTONE takes majority stake in SKROUTZ

For the first time since being taken over in 2008, Colibri – Promesse de Fleurs has opened its capital to an institutional investor. Nord Capital Partenaires has acquired a minority stake by buying out the historical individual investors (friends and family) who backed President 18 years ago. Griot retains majority control of the group. The strategic rationale for the deal is to clean up the cap table and provide a springboard for an ambitious international expansion plan across Northern and Eastern Europe (including the Netherlands, Portugal, and Finland). The transaction includes a refinancing of existing bank debt but incorporates no new leverage (zero-leverage LBO model), ensuring that all future cash flows can be reinvested into logistics, digital marketing, and the opening of international warehouses.

Elevation Capital Partners invested €4 million in Ocellus through its Elevation Growth vehicle, marking the first-ever opening of Ocellus's capital to an external investor. The fundraise was managed by placement agent Talaria Capital. The proceeds will be used to accelerate the development of Ocellus Games, enabling the group to achieve in two to three years what it could have self-financed over five to six years. The near-term roadmap includes the launch of a first Trading Card Game (TCG) within two years and the development of a demo for a higher-budget action-adventure game within one year, alongside continued expansion of Ocellus Services into adjacent offerings including project management, game prototyping, audio integration, sound effects, and cinematics production.

Future PLC acquired SheerLuxe. The acquisition is highly strategic: it brings to Future a "Google-Zero" blueprint—a model resilient to search algorithm volatility—and deep expertise in social commerce and podcasting. The current management team will remain to deliver an ambitious double-digit growth plan.

Siparex Midcap acquired a majority stake in 123 Elec from B&Capital. This transaction marks the exit of B&Capital after a five-year holding period during which the group doubled its revenue from EUR43m to over EUR90m and realized a 2.5x return on investment. The management team reinvested significantly alongside Siparex and a pool of financial partners including BNP Paribas Developpement. The deal, supported by acquisition debt arranged by Caisse d'Epargne, aims to accelerate 123 Elec's digital lead and diversify its product offering into energy transition equipment.

Bending Spoons has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of the target organization, a move that will transition the entity from a public corporation listed on the NYSE to a private subsidiary. The strategic rationale for the transaction is rooted in the acquirer’s objective to accelerate innovation within the experience economy by applying its advanced engineering resources and AI expertise to the target’s established ticketing platform. Planned initiatives include the introduction of dedicated messaging functionality to enhance community interaction, the implementation of AI-driven tools to simplify event creation for organizers, and the improvement of platform searchability for attendees. Additionally, the acquirer intends to explore the development of a secure system for the secondary ticket market to address existing industry friction. This acquisition represents a significant expansion of the acquirer's portfolio into the live experience sector, leveraging its robust financing capabilities and a proven record of revitalizing iconic digital brands. The partnership aims to solidify the platform's role as a global leader for live social connections for the foreseeable future.

Sparring Capital acquired a majority stake in Elec 44 to facilitate a management transition as the founders sought to step back from operations. The transaction involves the recruitment of a new CEO to lead the next growth phase. Sparring invested a ticket between €10 million and €15 million (mix of equity and bonds). The founders reinvested alongside the fund. A senior debt package completes the financing with a leverage of approximately 3x EBITDA.

This transaction is a strategic corporate acquisition wherein Stingray enters into a definitive agreement to fully acquire TuneIn. The operation is financed through a dedicated new term loan secured under the acquirer's renewed credit facility, featuring a structured payout that includes an initial closing payment and a subsequent performance-based earn-out. The primary strategic rationale driving this consolidation is to profoundly expand Stingray's global digital audio footprint and rapidly accelerate its growth within the streaming services sector. Furthermore, by directly integrating TuneIn's comprehensive ad platform and massive active listener base, the combined entity will dramatically bolster its targeted audio, video, and display advertising offerings, creating a highly scalable global audio leader.

Claranova completed the sale of its personalized photo division, PlanetArt, to a consortium led by General Atlantic Credit and the division's management team. The deal is a strategic imperative for Claranova to deleverage its balance sheet and pivot to a "pure-player" software model. The proceeds allow Claranova to refinance its remaining debt and focus on its high-margin segments: PDF (SodaPDF), Utilities (Adaware), and Photo Software (inPixio).

Andera Partners acquires a majority stake in CDS Groupe, the French champion of business hotel booking solutions. This secondary LBO marks the exit of historical investors Siparex and Bpifrance. Ziad Minkara, the CEO, remains at the helm. With Andera's backing, CDS aims to accelerate its international expansion (particularly in Europe, targeting Italy and Germany) and potentially pursue new acquisitions to consolidate the fragmented business travel market.

Inflexion has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Finanzen.net Group from the media conglomerate Axel Springer. The transaction is structured as a carve-out, separating the financial portal and brokerage business from the parent company to operate as a standalone platform. The founders will retain a significant stake and continue to lead the business. Strategically, Inflexion aims to accelerate the growth of the "Zero" neobroker division by cross-selling to the portal's massive audience, effectively converting media traffic into trading customers. The plan also includes launching new savings and investment products to rival competitors like Trade Republic.