Hivest Capital Partners enters into exclusive negotiations to acquire Agora Technologies from its shareholders

Paris, March 2nd, 2022 – Hivest Capital Partners S.A.S. (“Hivest Capital”), an independent  French private equity firm, has entered into exclusive negotiations with the shareholders of  Agora Technologies (together with its subsidiaries GHM, Eclatec, Metalec, TTT and GHM  Eclatec BV, “Agora Technologies” or the “Group”) following the submission of a fully-financed  binding offer for the acquisition of the Group by affiliates of Hivest Capital.

With roots dating back to 1837, Agora Technologies is a family-owned business and the French  leader in the design, production, and sale of public lighting products. Born from the combination  of Eclatec and GHM in 2005, the Group provides municipalities in France and Europe with  public lighting and street furniture equipment. Agora Technologies is particularly well-known  for a number of historical landmarks in Paris including the ornaments of the Alexandre III  bridge, Wallace fountains, street lights on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées and Guimard  metro entrances.

With a network of 16 commercial agencies and 4 production plants in France, the Group’s  ~600 employees are committed to embellishing cities and working towards improving their  energy efficiency. Thanks to its unique know-how, which is resolutely turned towards  innovation, Agora Technologies has emerged as a major player in the transformation of the  urban landscape, accompanying the transition to LED lighting and the deployment of smart  city solutions.

With the support of Hivest Capital, the Group will accelerate its growth in France and abroad  and continue its pursuit of technological innovation to develop new solutions in the fields of  smart city, public lighting, mobility, and general quality of life.

Completion of the transaction is subject to the signing of a final and definitive agreement between the parties. The acquisition project is currently being reviewed by employee  representative bodies and will also be submitted to competition authorities for approval.

ABOUT AGORA TECHNOLOGIES 

Based in Sommevoire (Haute-Marne), Agora Technologies specializes in the design,  production and sale of public lighting and street furniture equipment under brands Eclatec and  GHM. The Group relies on a wide commercial network of 16 agencies in France as well as a  sales subsidiary in the Netherlands. The Group employs a workforce of ~600 through its  French subsidiaries, all located in the Eastern part of France – GHM (Sommevoire), Eclatec  (Maxéville), Metalec (Juvaincourt), and TTT (Toul).

ABOUT HIVEST CAPITAL PARTNERS 

Hivest Capital is an independent French private equity firm approved by the Authorité des  Marchés Financiers. Hivest Capital invests in French SMEs or mid-cap companies with a  turnover between 20 and 500 million euros, in the context of buyout or capital expansion  projects. Hivest Capital’s objective is to help companies reach their full potential by implementing ambitious growth strategies and improving operational performance.

LIST OF PARTIES INVOLVED

Buy-side: 

– Investor – Hivest Capital Partners: Cédric Lépée, Axel Bonnassies, Barthélemy Grave,  Guillaume Bourcier, Inès Oddo, Marie Réveilhac

– Financing – Rothschild & Co: Grégory Fradelizi, Nicolas Levy, Augustin de Guibert,  Thomas Lenoble

– Legal counsel:

o Hogan Lovells (Corporate): Stéphane Huten, Ali Chegra, Florian Tranchecoste,  Maxime Lasry

o Mayer Brown (Financing): Patrick Teboul, Marion Minard

o CJA (Tax & Structuring): Jean Goncalves

o Hogan Lovells (Social): Alexandra Tuil

– Financial due diligence – Advolis: Damien Bourg, Xavier Nicolas, Raphael Kalfa

– Strategic due diligance – Strategia Partners: Jean Berg, Thomas Chèvre, Simon  Grosman

– Environmental due diligence – Ginger Burgeap: Karim Abel Sebti

– Insurance due diligence – Marsh: Jean-Marie Dargaignaratz, Margaux Rocher,  Charline Courtemanche

– ESG due diligence – Sirsa: Sandrine Cabrit, Margot Varache

Sell-side: 

– M&A advisor – Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance: Nicolas Durieux, Pierre  Boscher, Léa Ronez, Mathilde Abensour

– Financing – Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance: Paul Assaël – Legal counsel:

o PJM (Corporate): Benoît Marpeau, Etienne Létang

o CMS (Legal due diligence, Tax, Social): Julie Chatelain, Jean-Philippe Clément

– Financial due diligence – Eight Advisory: Xavier Mesguich, Stéphane Paccard, Mathieu  Dariche

– Strategic due diligence – Neovian: Martin Fougerolle, Leonid Dorogoi, Théo Petitjean,  Arnaud Atché, Hubert Meurillon

CONTACT

Hivest Capital Partners:

Barthélemy GRAVE, 24 rue de Prony – 75017 Paris, barthelemy@hivestcapital.com