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In 2023, French serial entrepreneurs Fabrice Petit and Cyril Velter completed one of the most significant transactions in the European SF landscape, selling Jedéclaremonmeublé.com (JD2M) to Cairn Transmission (Stéfano Demari & Victor Peltier). Previously, Petit and Velter They had a mixed experience selling a company to an industrial buyer, as the deal offered no clear future projects and very little discussion took place regarding the company’s future strategy. This time, however, the SF model allowed them to remain involved as board members and reinvest part of their proceeds in the new buyout, reigniting their passion for the SF model.
Now, embracing a “give-back” philosophy, they are committed to sharing their experiences and advising young, aspiring entrepreneurs. To that end, they’ve allocated a portion of their gains to support French searchers. Specifically, they’re using Peter’s Troop, their family holding company, to deploy approximately €15M over the next few years in this asset class. Their aim is to back around 50-70 searchers and build a portfolio of approximately 35-45 SMEs. Typically, they invest half of a unit to support the search phase, with an average investment of $250-500k per deal. Their focus is exclusively on the French market, with the occasional exception in neighboring countries, provided that the searcher is French (or at least one member of a duo is French).
The first SF they supported was Sailly Transmission a few months ago. Since then, they have already made soft commitments to more than half a dozen SFs in France that are currently fundraising, and they are exploring three potential equity gaps.
To diversify their approach and gain comprehensive exposure to this asset class, they have also invested in Relay Partners’ European investment fund to broaden their coverage in Europe. Looking ahead, they are considering future investments in a leading U.S. player to extend their reach into the USA/Canada market.
