INFONET acquired by CYBER1

Scalian, a leading European engineering and management consulting firm, has entered a new strategic cycle following a majority investment by Cobepa. The transaction, finalized in 2019, sees the Brussels and New York-based investment firm succeed Andera Partners, which remains an investor alongside the management team led by President Yvan Chabanne.

The transaction involves the 100% acquisition of RedSocks Security BV by Bitdefender, aimed at integrating advanced network security capabilities into the existing platform architecture. By acquiring the company, the acquirer strengthens its position by incorporating specialized behavior analytics and threat intelligence technologies into its GravityZone portfolio. This move allows the firm to extend its service offering beyond traditional endpoint protection, addressing a critical market need for more holistic, multi-layered security architectures that detect anomalies in real-time. The acquisition serves as a key pillar in the firm's broader M&A strategy, designed to accelerate go-to-market traction in Europe and enhance the overall value proposition for existing customers. Post-acquisition, the integration of the target’s technological assets and specialized team is expected to facilitate a significant upgrade in defensive capabilities against sophisticated, high-profile breaches.

Orange SA has finalized a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the capital of Basefarm Holding AS, a major European player in cloud infrastructure and critical application services. This strategic corporate buyout significantly reinforces Orange Business’ positioning within the highly competitive European corporate cloud computing services landscape. The transaction perimeter seamlessly incorporates Basefarm’s operational infrastructure distributed across Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany, allowing Orange Business to instantly strengthen its continental geographic coverage. By absorbing Basefarm, Orange Business complements its existing portfolio with advanced, cutting-edge technologies and deep expertise in data management, critical application management, big data infrastructure, and multi-cloud services. The post-closing strategic rationale focuses on driving mutual growth.

Court Square Capital Partners has successfully closed a majority investment in Momentum Telecom. The transaction structure also includes substantial equity participation from Momentum Telecom’s senior management team, ensuring strong alignment of interests and operational continuity moving forward. This transaction represents a highly strategic platform investment for Court Square Capital Partners, allowing the firm to deploy its dry powder into a leading player within the unified communications space. For Momentum Telecom, partnering with a premier middle-market private equity sponsor provides the company with access to extensive capital resources and deep strategic expertise. The management team expects to leverage Court Square’s proven track record—spanning over 215 investments since 1979—and profound knowledge of the telecommunications industry to drive aggressive organic growth and expand its service footprint. The Bank Street Group LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to Momentum, while SunTrust Robinson Humphrey advised Court Square in connection with this transaction.

Orange SA has announced the acquisition of a 59.10% controlling equity stake in Business & Decision, a corporate entity specializing in data analysis, governance, and strategic digital consulting. The acquisition thesis is rooted in capability-driven scale and market positioning within the enterprise digital transformation landscape. By integrating Business & Decision, Orange Business Services executes a major expansion of its technical product pipeline, securing an end-to-end operational expertise in big data management, predictive business intelligence, and advanced data governance infrastructure. The post-closing strategic rationale focuses on leveraging the target's specialized technical capabilities to deepen Orange's vertical knowledge of its corporate clients' underlying businesses. This industrial combination provides the group with the critical mass and enhanced consultative capabilities required to cross-sell data-driven services, accelerate its positioning as an integrated global digital transformation partner, and capture market share in high-margin enterprise data verticals.

Polaris has finalized the acquisition of a majority shareholding in ProData Consult to accelerate the organization's expansion across the Nordic region and beyond. This strategic investment marks the sixth entry for the acquirer’s Fund IV and aims to capitalize on the target's high-growth trajectory, which has exceeded 20% average annual growth over the last 15 years. The strategic rationale focuses on consolidating the target's position as Northern Europe’s leading independent platform for high-end IT consultants, with a particular emphasis on scaling its proprietary Nearshoring-as-a-Service (NaaS) model. By partnering with the existing management team and founders, who will co-invest alongside the fund, the group intends to leverage the target’s scalable digital marketplace to meet the surging demand for agile IT talent. The partnership is designed to foster both organic international development and selective add-on acquisitions to deepen the firm’s footprint in Poland, Norway, and Sweden. This integration strengthens the target’s financial capacity to navigate the evolving "open talent" landscape while providing the acquirer with a high-performing asset at the intersection of professional services and digital technology.

The acquisition of a controlling stake in Realdolmen marks a transformative expansion for the group’s operations in the Benelux region, establishing a dominant market position in Belgium and Luxembourg. This strategic move follows a successful friendly public tender offer, allowing the organization to integrate a leading regional player with a strong track record of operational performance and technical excellence. The strategic rationale for the transaction is rooted in the convergence of international development goals and the increasing demand for end-to-end digital transformation services across European markets. By absorbing this specialist platform, the group significantly enhances its technical capacity and operational density, specifically within the public and financial services sectors. The partnership is built on the preservation of local management and technical expertise, ensuring a smooth transition and the continuity of high-quality client service. Furthermore, the integration allows for significant commercial synergies, providing the group with a robust multidisciplinary service offering to address complex IT infrastructure and data migration challenges for a diverse client base. This move reinforces the group's position as a primary enabler of digital growth in the European technology services landscape.

Ardian Growth entered the capital of Seri Jakala as part of a club deal alongside Mediobanca's Equity Partners Investment Club and several prominent Italian family holdings. The transaction was structured to support the founder, Matteo de Brabant, and his management team in their next phase of expansion. The strategic partnership focuses on accelerating the group's digital service offerings and penetrating new European markets. This investment leverages Ardian's international network and digital track record to transform the Italian leader into a dominant pan-European player through both organic development and potential market consolidation.

Permira has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Exclusive Group, marking a significant leadership transition for the global cybersecurity distributor. This transaction facilitates the exit of the previous majority owner, Cobepa, as well as minority investor Andera Partners. The deal follows a period of hyper-growth where the group's revenue nearly tripled over a three-year period, driven by a successful international "buy-and-build" strategy including major acquisitions in North America and Asia. The strategic rationale for this new partnership is to secure the capital and global network necessary to scale the business toward a multi-billion euro revenue target. The competitive process saw intense interest from several global private equity houses, reflecting the asset's unique profile as a specialized "pure player" in a highly defensive and technical market. The management team, which rejected industrial merger proposals in favor of maintaining operational independence, will retain a significant equity stake and continue to lead the group’s expansion into new geographic regions and service lines. The transaction financing involves a sophisticated debt structure designed to provide maximum flexibility for future tactical acquisitions and ongoing industrial investments.

Advent International, a global leader in private equity, has finalized the acquisition of Circet, the top French provider of telecommunications infrastructure services. Advent becomes the majority shareholder, facilitating the exit of CM-CIC Investissement, Omnes Capital, and the company's founders. The transaction was carried out alongside President Philippe Lamazou and the existing management team, who are reinvesting to support a new European expansion phase.