Hivest Capital Partners raises a Continuation Fund to support Agora Makers’ international development

Paris, 14^th January 2025 – Hivest Capital Partners S.A.S. (“Hivest Capital”) is pleased to announce that it has realised its investment in Agora Makers through the sale of its majority shareholding to a newly created single-asset continuation fund. The transaction was co-led by Patria and Committed Advisors.

With over 180 years of heritage, Agora Makers (“Agora”) is a pan-European industry leader, specialising in the design and manufacturing of public lighting and street furniture solutions with leading brands including Eclatec, GHM, Metalco, Bellitalia & CityDesign. Supported by ESG tailwinds around the development of public spaces and smart, sustainable cities, Agora has delivered impressive growth to date and has scope for further value creation.

Since Hivest Capital’s initial investment in May 2022 and under the leadership of David Lelièvre, Agora has turned into a European leader multiplying its EBITDA by c. 2.5x. This performance results from strong organic growth and selected acquisitions expanding its product and brand portfolio with the addition of street furniture capabilities & smart lighting solutions.

This transaction will allow Hivest Capital, as well as the Agora Makers management team, to continue supporting the business over its next cycle of growth, with the benefit of fresh capital to execute on an attractive pipeline of organic and external growth opportunities. The group aims to develop its international footprint in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and in new geographies.

The sale marks another highly successful exit for Hivest I and Hivest II only two and a half years after its acquisition, providing investors with an attractive return.

Patria and Committed Advisors acted as co-lead investors for the transaction, alongside new investors and existing investors of Hivest Capital’s funds. The Continuation Fund includes substantial additional capital to support the M&A strategy of Agora. Libertas and other minority shareholders of Agora Makers have also significantly rolled their investment in the transaction.

David Lelièvre, CEO of Agora Makers, said: “Following a period of high growth, this operation validates our strategy and provides the group with additional means to reinforce its global leadership through M&A. Hivest Capital has been a great partner to support us in the inception of this development and we are thrilled to continue our fruitful partnership with them.” 

Cédric Lépée and Axel Bonnassies, Co-Founders and Managing Partners at Hivest Capital, said: “This first continuation fund represents a significant milestone for us and we thank our new & historical LPs for their support during the process. We are excited to be able to continue to support the development of Agora Makers alongside its management team.”

Barthélemy Grave, Principal at Hivest Capital, said: “With our continued support, Agora Makers will accelerate its international development and continue its pursuit of technological innovation to develop new solutions in the field of smart city, especially for public lighting applications, so as to improve quality of life.”

Alistair Watson, Deputy Head of Private Equity, commented: “As a longstanding partner of Hivest Capital, we are delighted to back the firm once again in this continuation fund for Agora Makers. We are impressed by Hivest Capital and the management’s ambitions to further cement Agora Makers’ position as a pan-European champion.”

Daniel Benin, Managing Partner at Committed Advisors, added: “We are thrilled to partner with Hivest Capital on this new chapter of value creation for Agora Makers, and to have contributed to providing a liquidity option to existing investors.”

Following the completion of this operation, Hivest Capital’s funds under management have reached €900m.

Evercore Partners acted as financial advisor to Hivest Capital. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as legal advisor to Hivest Capital. Dentons acted as legal advisor to Patria and Committed Advisors. Banca Finint acted as financial advisor to Libertas.

For further questions, please contact: barthelemy@hivestcapital.com

About Agora Makers

Agora Makers is an international group headquartered in France which focuses on the design and manufacture of street furniture and public lighting. Its core mission is to imagine innovative lighting solutions and create high-quality products that enhance urban spaces while providing an aesthetic and functional experience. Its vision is to create environments where aesthetics meets functionality, where innovation meets sustainability. Its aim is to meet the needs of communities, urban planners and architects by combining design, sustainability and performance. Agora Makers is composed of internationally renowned brands such as GHM, Eclatec, Nexiode, Metalco, Bellitalia, CityDesign and My Equilibria, joining forces to redefine public space.

For more information: https://www.agora-makers.com/

About Hivest Capital Partners

Hivest Capital Partners is an independent European private equity firm authorized by the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF). In the context of buyout or expansion projects, Hivest Capital Partners invests in SMEs with revenues between €50 million to €500 million. The private equity firm aims to help companies reach their full potential through improved operational performance and ambitious growth strategies.

For more information: https://hivestcapital.com  

About Patria

Patria is a leading alternative investment firm with over 35 years of history specialized in key resilient sectors. With over U$44 billion pro forma AUM and a global presence, it aims to provide consistent returns in attractive long term investment opportunities while creating sustainable value for society.

For more information: https://www.patria.com/

About Committed Advisors

Founded in 2010, Committed Advisors is an independent private equity investment manager with EUR 6.5 billion of assets under management. The firm is headquartered in Paris with affiliated offices in New York and Singapore. Through funds under management, Committed Advisors is dedicated to acquiring primarily mature private equity assets in North America, Europe and emerging countries in the small- and mid-sized segments of the private equity secondary market. It acts as a provider of liquidity, having deployed in excess of EUR 2.0bn across more than 45 GP-led deals since 2013.

For more information: https://www.committedadvisors.com

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Investors

• Hivest Capital Partners: Cédric Lépée, Axel Bonnassies, Barthélemy Grave, Clémence Hélary, Yousra Maataz, Roland Hillion, Marin Letouzé
• Patria: Alistair Watson, Kanika Goela, Raphael Castori
• Committed Advisors: Daniel Benin, Philippe Theiller, Evrard Isch

Continuation Fund

• Financial advisor – Evercore Partners: Jasmine Hunet, Ismaeel Hussain, Nathalie Heesom, Nathalie Martin
• Debt raising – Rothschild: Grégory Fradelizi, Nicolas Levy, Thomas Koehl
• Legal advisors:
  • Willkie Farr & Gallagher (fund): Nathalie Dugay, Melina Combeau
  • Dentons (fund): Guy Norfolk, Joseph Collingwood
  • Willkie Farr & Gallagher (corporate): Christophe Garaud, Marie Aubard, Akim Ouint, Yacine Maamri, Floriane Teillet
  • Hogan Lovells (corporate): Stéphane Huten, Ali Chegra, Shanna Hodara, Paul de Boishebert
  • Mayer Brown (debt financing): Patrick Teboul, Marion Minard, Blaise Fischer
  • Herbert Smith Freehills Paris (debt financing): Laure Bonin, Emmanuel Le Galloc’h
  • Willkie Farr & Gallagher (bond financing): Paul Lombard, Pauline Sarda
  • Fieldfisher (bond financing): Jean-Baptiste Van De Voorde, Fatima Kheidri
  • CJ Astorg (structuring & tax): Jean Goncalves
  • Hogan Lovells (competition): Eric Paroche, Victor Lévy
  • CWA (social): Pierre Lucas
• Strategic due diligence – Roland Berger: Matthieu Daumas, Etienne Branchoux
• Financial due diligence – Alvarez & Marsal: Cédric Zana, Julien Szaleniec

Minority Shareholders

• Financial advisors:
  • Banca Finint: Andrea Chiappa, Pietro Favale
  • Coruscans: Florian Pascaud
• Legal advisors:
  • Scotto Partners (corporate & tax): Isabelle Cheradame, Manon Halna du Fretay, Remi Mandet, Ugo Storch
  • Advant NCTM (corporate): Lucia Corradi
  • Studio Fornasini (tax): Matteo Fornasini