NEXTSTAGE invests in PEERSGROUP

The alternative asset manager NextStage AM signs a minority stake acquisition in PeersGroup alongside co-investor BNP Paribas Développement to finance an owner buyout transaction. The transaction is structured through an equity investment of between €4 million and €7 million deployed via NextStage AM's FPCI Capital Entrepreneur II and Amundi Capital Entrepreneur vehicles, combining a primary capital increase with secondary cash-out liquidity. Jérôme Pierucci and Guillaume Ginguene retain absolute majority equity control, while senior bank debt arranged with conservative leverage supports the financial package. The transaction facilitates broader managerial equity ownership, bringing approximately twenty key executives and operational employees into the company's capital structure. Financially, the consulting group generated an estimated €30M in turnover and aims to reach €80 million in consolidated revenue by 2028. Strategic deployment of the freshly injected balance sheet equity will fund an ambitious external acquisition pipeline designed to broaden geographical market penetration beyond Île-de-France into regional hubs, while adding specialized functional expertise in core advisory areas. Transaction execution engaged a broad advisory consortium across corporate, legal, and financial perimeters. NextStage AM mandated Yards as legal counsel, led by Igor Doumenc, Julien Brower, Maud Gendron, and Patricia Khoury, alongside Mazars for financial due diligence conducted by Xavier Baron, Pierre Tchertoff, and Leopold Kedziora. The buyer also retained Advention for strategic due diligence under Etienne Pithois and Iska Pivois, and BetterWay for ESG auditing led by Samuel Monteiro. BNP Paribas Développement was represented internally by Delphine Larrandaburu and Baptiste Alain. PeersGroup and its founding shareholders retained Capstone Finance as financial and debt financing advisor, led by Thaddée Willart, Rafaëlle Faibis, Pierre Gautier, and Audrey Silber. Legal counsel to the sellers was provided by Walter Billet Avocats, led by Fabien Billet, Christophe Cussaguet, and Amr Akram Abed, with vendor financial due diligence executed by Exelmans through Stéphane Dahan and Eric Chan.