STA GROUPE acquired by FREELANCE.COM

Trail Capital has successfully completed a strategic investment in Marcadé via its SLAM fund, acquiring a significant stake to fuel the agency's international 2028 Roadmap. The operation is strictly engineered to trigger a transition of ownership, inviting five key managers to the cap table alongside the founder. To adequately capitalize this new cycle, the deal structure incorporates a debt package designed to support an aggressive organic and external growth strategy. This partnership is aimed at tripling the group's revenue from €20M to €60M by 2028 by establishing new local hubs in high-growth regions such as the Middle East (Dubai) and the United States

PROMAN has completed the acquisition of the French startup Onestaff. This transaction marks the group's second major digital acquisition within a year, following the integration of the online agency Iziwork. The strategic rationale for the deal is to bridge the gap between traditional temporary staffing and the burgeoning freelance economy. By integrating Onestaff’s AI-driven matching technology and its database of 60,000 independent professionals, PROMAN can now offer corporate clients a seamless choice between temporary employment contracts and freelance service agreements

The acquisition of INAQ by Torghatten Aqua is a strategic move to strengthen the company's position in the seafood industry. The deal allows Torghatten Aqua to expand its services to include consultancy and advisory services, catering to the needs of seafood businesses in Norway and internationally. The acquisition also provides INAQ with access to a strong network and industrial owners, ensuring its position as an independent and standalone player in the industry. The deal is expected to create synergies between the two companies, particularly in the development and dissemination of knowledge and expertise

Andera Partners acquired a minority stake in Meogroup, partnering with the founder and the CEO, who remain at the helm. This transaction, marking a new development cycle for the group, allows Meogroup to restructure its capital while securing significant financial resources to pursue its buy-and-build strategy. Supported by a pool of senior financing led by LCL and Credit Agricole, the group aims to accelerate its international expansion and broaden its service offerings, following a successful streak of five acquisitions in the past three years (including Cristal Decisions and Cost House)

This majority buyout transaction shifts the institutional control of Two Circles from Bruin Capital to Charterhouse Capital Partners, in a deal structured to ensure total management continuity through a significant equity reinvestment by the current leadership team led by co-founder and CEO Gareth Balch. The transaction is timed to exploit a clear inflection point in the sports marketing lifecycle, where Two Circles has successfully institutionalized its proprietary data platforms and proven its capacity to absorb complementary specialized agencies, including the historical integrations of TRM Partners, LiveWire Sport, Sports Ink, and Codeware

The acquisition of OpenWork allows Freelance.com to absorb one of its most innovative competitors, effectively merging OpenWork’s digital-first platform with Freelance.com’s large-scale institutional reach. The strategic rationale for the deal is rooted in the complementary nature of their service offerings and geographic footprints, particularly with the integration of OpenWork’s Belgian operations into Freelance.com’s existing international network in Switzerland and Morocco. By combining their commercial and marketing resources, the new group achieves a stronger position to manage different tiers of consultants through a multi-brand strategy

Acuity Knowledge Partners has been acquired by Permira, with the transaction announced in January 2023 and subject to standard regulatory approvals. The acquisition follows a prior ownership structure in which Equistone Partners Europe held a majority position after a management buyout from Moody's Corporation in 2019, and it marks the transition to a new majority shareholder while retaining minority stakes for existing investors and management. Permira cited the expansion of tech‑enabled research services to financial institutions as a core driver for the investment, noting that Acuity’s global delivery model and proprietary analytics platform align with the firm’s strategy to deepen capabilities in data‑intensive sectors

Bain Capital Private Equity acquired a 55% majority stake in House of HR from the French private equity firm Naxicap Partners. This transaction concludes a decade-long value creation cycle during which the group’s revenue exploded from €330 million to €2.2 billion through a series of tactical international acquisitions. The strategic rationale for the deal is rooted in the target’s hybrid positioning—combining traditional staffing with engineering consultancy and digital recruitment platforms. Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment following the geopolitical shifts in early 2022, the deal was successfully structured through a significant debt package, highlighting the high resilience of the group’s cash-flow profile

New Mountain Capital acquired a majority stake in Citrin Cooperman, marking a historic shift for the firm from a traditional partnership to a PE-backed growth model. The strategic partnership was designed to provide the financial and technological resources needed to accelerate both organic growth and a massive consolidation program. In the first six months following the investment, the firm successfully closed five strategic acquisitions, expanding its geographic footprint and diversifying into specialized technology and advisory services

Sagard entered into exclusive negotiations to become the new reference shareholder of ADIT, acquiring a stake slightly below 50%. This transaction represents the fourth LBO since the company's privatization in 2011. Existing shareholders Parquest Capital, Bpifrance, and Amundi PEF reinvested in the new structure. The French State retained its "golden share" to safeguard strategic national interests. The deal aims to support ADIT's ambition to rival major Anglo-Saxon players and accelerate its expansion into Italy, Germany, and Spain