LBO France, Africinvest & Siparex take majority stake in ACC M

LBO France acquired a majority interest in ACC M from the TTH group on 4 November 2026, investing through its Small Caps Opportunities III fund in that vehicle’s first transaction. AfricInvest Europe, the Fonds Souverain Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes managed by Siparex Territoires and CACF Développement took minority positions. Chairman Thierry Cézard and TTH’s founder Thierry Torti each reinvested a substantial part of their proceeds, around twenty senior managers entered the capital, and an employee shareholding plan was to follow during the year. Crédit Agricole Centre France arranged the bank financing as agent, with La Banque Postale, LCL, Groupama Asset Management and La Banque Postale Asset Management, alongside a dedicated facility for acquisitions. Founded in 1919 and based at Clermont-Ferrand with a second site at Albi, ACC M overhauls railway rolling stock, returning trains, metros, trams and locomotives to service after two decades of operation. The mid-life refurbishment it performs extends a vehicle’s useful life to around forty years: stripping it down, renewing the bogies, doors, braking systems, air conditioning and electrical components, modernising the interior and returning it certified for service. Its customers are transport operators and the public authorities organising urban and regional networks, and the group includes TRR, whose technicians work within customers’ own depots. It employs around 450 people and expected revenue of €50–100M for 2026, more than double its 2022 figure. The company had failed eight years earlier and was acquired out of administration by TTH in 2019, since when it has tripled in size. Refurbishing rather than replacing is what the market rewards. A new tram costs several million euros and takes years to deliver, while an overhaul costs a fraction of that and returns the vehicle within months, which suits authorities facing constrained budgets and carbon reduction obligations alike. The certifications required to perform such work on vehicles carrying passengers are held by few private operators. Recent contracts in Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux and the Pays de la Loire took the company into Citadis tram and regional train programmes, and the new shareholders intended to extend that position, continue diversifying the equipment and customers served, and acquire other operators in a European rail maintenance market that remains fragmented. AfricInvest expected to support expansion in Africa, where French-built trams and metros operated by French companies will require the same mid-life work. Pax Corporate Finance advised ACC M and its shareholders in a competitive process that attracted several French funds.