News
Hoche Avocats advises IK Partners on the acquisition of a minority stake in Pr0ph3cy Group, provider of IT and cybersecurity services in France, alongside Arthur Bataille
Managed by Arthur Bataille, the Pr0ph3cy group is composed of Silicom, a consulting service company expert in the security of infrastructure / cybersecurity founded almost 40 years ago, and Seela, an e-learning platform focused on cybersecurity founded in 2019 that contributes to the protection of organisations through the awareness and training of teams in case of cyber-attacks.
With 280 employees, the Pr0ph3cy group will serve large private groups and government agencies to provide solutions for their critical security needs and will offer an e-learning platform aimed at upskilling or reskilling IT, network and cyber professionals.
In the context of the transaction, IK Partners acquired a significant minority stake in the group alongside Arthur Bataille, who retains control and management of the business.
IK Partners, together with management, will further develop the group through five key goals:
- become the French leader in securing technological products by mastering the design and integration of “Secure by Design” as well as the technical training for these products;
- consolidate the French cybersecurity ecosystem around its training solution to promote its technical and technological excellence internationally;
- recruit over 100 individuals in 2022 in France, Europe and Canada to support its clients in their growth strategies and in the securitisation of their digital products and services. This organic growth strategy could be accelerated by targeted acquisitions facilitated by its new financial partner IK Partners;
- accelerate the technological shift of cybersecurity through Artificial Intelligence around SOC (Security Operation Centre) – the centre of operations focused on monitoring threats – and SIEM (Security Information Management System) – the monitoring tool used by analysts that includes software to monitor enterprise networks; and
- reinforce digital sovereignty and accelerate the upskilling of cyber professionals to safeguard jobs and the French economy in the digital field.
The transaction was led by IK Partners’ Development Capital team and is the first investment from the dedicated pool of Development Capital in the IK Small Cap III Fund, which held a final close at its hard cap of €1.2 billion earlier this year.
About IK Partners: IK Partners (formerly IK Investment Partners) is a European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK Partners has raised more than €14 billion of capital and invested in over 155 European companies. IK Partners supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects.
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IK Partners’ legal counsel: Hoche Avocats: corporate – Grine Lahreche (partner) and Audrey Szultz (associate); tax – Jérôme Mas (partner)
Management’s legal counsel: corporate – Argos Avocats: Julien Sanciet (partner) and Magali Carosso (partner); tax – Cazals Manzo Pichot Saint-Quentin: Bertrand de Saint Quentin (partner) and Valentin Damien (associate)
Lenders’ legal counsel: Cards Avocats: Chucri Serhal (partner), Carole Geara (associate), Othmane Mestari (associate)
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