M&A Awards 2019

12 Acquisition International - 2019 M&A Awards Best French Tech M&A Company 2019 As new technology companies are being founded increasingly frequently, so they are also being merged and acquired just as rapidly. Leading the French market for M&A within the technology industry, Apm is a boutique firm that was founded in 2005 to serve entrepreneurs and private equity funds in the digital sector. In 2019, Apm achieved 10 deals thanks to its M&A team of more than 12 professionals. Following its win in the M&A Awards 2019, we profile the firm to learn more about its successes. he growing necessity for digitalisation across all industries has meant that the digital market in France remains very energetic. Influenced mainly by the need for IT tools such as SaaS software, cloud technology, IoT tech, and much more, companies are asking the technology industry to help. However, within the French digital market, there is a high number of deals, mergers, and acquisitions, thanks to a dynamic private equity industry and consolidation trends. Serving entrepreneurs and private equity funds within the French digital sector is Apm, offering a helping hand with trade sales (as SIS sold to Gfi, B&D sold to Orange, Kerensen Consulting sold to Salesforce, Teamtrade sold to Synechron), external growth (as House of HR acquisition of Pi, Total Specific Solutions acquisition of Technidata), leveraged buyout (LBO), management buyout (MBO), and reclassifying minority stakes (as Eva Group with B&Capital, LBO France with Infodis, Logteam with Generis Capital Partners, Beqom with Goldman Sachs). Since the firm’s beginnings almost fifteen years ago, Apm has continued to offer strong expertise within the software, technology services, and management consulting sector. The firm’s physical presence across Europe is tangible, working in an industry that has more than approximately five thousand corporations and private equity funds, as well as boasting exclusive access to key decision- makers all over the world. In order to remain at the cutting edge of both the legal and technology industries, the team at Apm has a crucial selection process for clients. The firm prides itself on working with companies that display high revenue growth and EBITDA margins. To keep delivering excellent services, the firm seeks to recruit exciting new talent from the best higher education schools. Fresh knowledge brings a new awareness of trends, innovations, and moves from key players within the industry, as well as regular updates on developments in technology. Each one of the firm’s dedicated professionals operates with extensive knowledge of the technology industry and digital sector within France, delivering services that are of the highest quality. To this day, Apm has been responsible for the completion of more than 160 deals, leaving a powerful mark on the French tech sector and highlighting the firm as a trusted partner that can deliver unparalleled legal services. Having the knowledge surrounding the technology and M&A sector within France is one thing, but critically, Apm know exactly how to implement and apply that knowledge to every case. Whether it be from the buying or selling side, or simply aiding clients with growing capital, this French firm has managed deals from both sides of the table. It is this insight that makes it a perfect partner for any deal within the French tech sector. Apm’s expertise is not simply limited to one area of technology either. Whilst its legal skill may be exceptionally well-refined, the firm’s knowledge of technology is expansive. From the buying side, Apm has worked with companies in vertical market software, healthcare software solutions, digital transformation, and IT consulting specialised in the delivery of technological and functional solutions. When taking on leveraged buyout work, the firm has partnered alongside companies specialised in cloud tech and cybersecurity, amongst many others. Selling requires a very different skillset, but one that the firm also comes well-equipped with to handle any case. The team at Apm have worked with technology companies specialising in computer- aided dispatch and alert systems, international consulting firms, and CRM software to name just a few. The breadth of technology that the team work with on a daily basis is a testament to their unparalleled knowledge of the sector, and their commitment to understanding even more every single day. Looking to the future, as technology continues to become an increasingly commonplace part of business life, Apm plans to increase recruitment pace, whilst also growing the number and size of the mid-market deals that the team complete. What has made, and will continue to make, Apm so successful is its excellent track record and matchless expertise within the French digital sector. Helping cultivate and engineer deals that bring together technology companies into new partnerships, this firm continues to be one of the most exciting at work within M&A across France today. T Company: Apm Contact: Sébastien Dray Website: www.apmanagement.fr “...working in an industry that has more than approximately five thousand corporations and private equity funds, as well as boasting exclusive access to key decision- makers all over the world.”