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In 2020, French searcher Philippe Saussol acquired Tethys, a specialist in pyromechanics applications and a recognized player in the defense sector. It was the second French SF acquisition (after the buyout of Performer in 2019 by Bruno Léa), and it was supported by Istria Capital, JB46, Cabiedes Capital, Inversiones Berrueco, Alcarama, Enrique Fernández (Insight One), La Financière Raffet, and CRG Investments, with the participation of Definvest, the fund of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces managed by Bpifrance, as well as the previous deputy manager Marc Schwindenhammer. The enterprise value was around €6M, with approximately €2,5M in equity and the remainder in senior debt financed by Caisse d’Épargne Côte d’Azur and Banque Populaire Méditerranée.
Founded in 2004, Tethys specializes in the design, development, and manufacturing of complex components and systems that harness the energy released by the combustion of energetic materials (powders, explosives), used in both military and civilian fields. Its areas of activity are diverse, ranging from defense (embedded products on naval and aeronautical platforms) and space to medical applications, including fire protection, cash protection, extreme sports, and nuclear safety. At the time of the acquisition in 2020, the company had a turnover of €3.5M with approximately €1M in EBITDA.
Under Philippe’s leadership, Tethys has experienced exponential growth over the past six years, tripling its revenue to almost €10M and reaching an EBITDA of €3.5M (in other words, it turned its 2020 sales into 2025 EBITDA!). The company currently employs 35 professionals and serves more than 30 clients, including Naval Group, MBDA, Satran, Ariane Group, Thales, Oberthur Cash Protection, Siemens, and Ifremer.
After an auction process that attracted numerous private equity players, Tethys ultimately came under the control of Abenex Small Cap II, valuing the LBO above €40M. The transaction was financed by Banque Populaire Méditerranée, Caisse d’Epargne, and BNP Paribas. The management of Tethys, led by Philippe, and Bpifrance reinvested in this new transaction. Philippe is confident in the company’s potential and expects it to reach €20M in revenue over the next five years.
This transaction marks the best exit so far from a SF (aside from a few standout performers in the United States that achieved extraordinary returns of over 20–50x). In essence, Tethys represents the perfect example of a SF acquisition that successfully leveraged three key value drivers:
- Exceptional growth, increasing EBITDA by 3.5x over six years.
- Initial leverage that was fully repaid (2x effect).
- An exit multiple close to 12x EBITDA, delivering another 2x uplift compared to entry.
Result: an operation that can be simplified by the equation 3.5 × 2 × 2 = 14x. Although the exact figures are not public, the MOIC is estimated to be around 14x, making it the best exit achieved by a SF in recent years.
It is undoubtedly a major success for Philippe, who has demonstrated that in France—a country that has faced some challenges in the SF segment over the past two years—it is still possible to execute outstanding transactions. It is the first full exit of a SF in France, but over the past two years Performer and GHS have also completed partial exits through share buybacks, delivering strong returns to some of their investors and demonstrating that the French SF market is maturing and consolidating.
M&A (buyer): Solid Partners / M&A (vendor): Largilliere Finance / Legal (buyer): Lerins / DD: Oderis / Legal (vendor): Franklin
