Andera Partners and Bpifrance acquire MC2 Technologies and allow the company to restore a 100% French shareholding.
Andera Expansion, Andera Partners’ small-mid cap team, and Bpifrance acquire the expert in microwave microelectronics dedicated to anti-drone and hidden object detection, alongside its management team, in a financing round exceeding €50 million.
Paris and Villeneuve d’ascq, 22nd July 2021 – Andera Partners, a leading player in the field of private equity – investing in SMEs through its Andera Expansion activity – and Bpifrance are acquiring MC2 Technologies to support its management team in its development and its will to strengthen its French roots.
Born from a research centre specialised in microelectronics at the Lille 1 University, MC2 Technologies became a key player in the worldwide anti-drones, hidden object detection and very high speed secured telecommunications markets, thanks to breakthrough technologies resulting from its microwave expertise.
MC2 Technologies designs, assembles, and commercialises radars and drone jammers, passive cameras for object detection as well as other technologies such as high-power amplifiers or transmitter/receiver (TR) modules. Its products meet critical customer needs in terms of performance, reliability, and user safety.
Positioned on high growth markets due to the numerous security challenges caused by the rise of leisure drones as well as the appearance of more sophisticated military drones, and by the growing demand for security in public places, MC2 Technologies invests massively in R&D to continually improve its solutions and thus provide innovative solutions to its civilian and government-linked customers.
Based in Villeneuve-d’Ascq in Nothern France and currently employing around 60 people, the company is headed by two renowned specialists in microwave technology: Nicolas Vellas and Christophe Gaquière, both Doctors (PhDs) and university professors in microelectronics.
Andera Partners’ and Bpifrance’s financing will allow MC2 Technologies to embrace a very ambitious development plan at a global level by providing substantial human and financial resources. It also gives the company a solid and stable shareholding structure, in line with the sovereignty requirements of the French defence and security industry.
The financing of the transaction is completed by a unitranche debt subscribed by Tikehau Capital.
Nicolas Vellas, CEO of MC2 Technologies said: “The change of ownership was fundamental due to the nature of our clients. We are very pleased to welcome Andera Partners, with whom we share strong development ambitions, both in terms of organic growth and acquisitions. Bpifrance’s entry into the capital also strengthens our legitimacy with our client base of government bodies”.
Romain Ohayon, Partner, and Pierre Cavalier, Investment Director at Andera Partners, said: “Nicolas Vellas and Christophe Gaquière have succeeded in transforming a research-oriented start-up into a growing cutting-edge SME, positioned in a market with strong dynamics. We are proud to support a French flagship in microelectronics, bringing forward new technologies to support our national security.”
Ronan Lefort, Investment Director at Bpifrance, added: “Bpifrance has been supporting MC2 Technologies for several years through innovation-related financing, which has enabled the company to develop unique products. Today, we are delighted to continue, alongside Andera Partners, to support MC2 Technologies and its management in their ambitious development plan and thus participating in the emergence of a French champion, with a strategic position in the fight against malicious drones and the security of public locations.”