EFOR, the consulting group specializing in life sciences, is structuring a new operation with its historic partner RAISE Invest while also bringing in Andera Acto to support its ambition of becoming a global leader in its market within five years. The operation is once again financed by unitranche debt carried by CAPZA.
After a decade in business, the EFOR group has firmly established itself as one of the European leaders in life sciences consultancy. With 2,000 employees spread across 19 agencies in 4 countries, and generating a turnover of €175 million in 2023, EFOR has been able to meet the constantly evolving needs of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medtech sectors.
Since its inception, EFOR has demonstrated continuous growth exceeding 20% per year in a resilient market, in full globalization and in search of trusted players to outsource strategic activities throughout the product life cycle, requiring increasingly sophisticated technical and scientific expertise.
In this context, EFOR reaffirms its vision: “To be a global leader in its market within 5 years.” To achieve this goal, the group aims to extend its international reach, particularly in Europe and the USA, to invest in the development of its offers and expertise, and to reach 5,000 employees by 2028.
EFOR’s strategy revolves around a dual axis: maintaining its pace of organic growth and intensifying its acquisitions by targeting companies that share the same DNA and common values. The ambition is clear: bring together the champions of each geography to establish an indisputable global recognition.
Reaffirming the resolutely entrepreneurial spirit of his group, Mathieu Roger takes advantage of this transaction to increase his stake from 50% to 66% and to associate 15 new operational managers. In doing so, he allows the 30 associated managers to hold more than 20% of the group’s capital.
The significant return of RAISE Invest in the group is a strong message reaffirming its support and confidence in the group’s project. It is now joined by ANDERA ACTO, a new entrant as a sponsorless fund (flexible capital fund) that will allow managers to increase their ownership thanks to investments composed mainly of bonds and preferred stocks. A faithful testimony to the group’s values, RAISE Invest also adds a remarkable societal dimension to the agreement with the integration of its philanthropic fund ‘Invest for , which stands out for its commitment to donate half of its capital gains to associations dedicated to children. Another historic partner consolidating its presence, CAPZA completes this powerful consortium with unitranche financing and a stake in the capital.
Mathieu Roger, Founding President of the EFOR Group, specifies: “This renewed alliance with RAISE Invest and CAPZA, and the arrival of the ANDERA ACTO fund, are strong testimonies of the confidence these key players place in our group. Their reaffirmed commitment and their desire to accompany our growth trajectory are valuable catalysts for our ambition. I am proud to have at my side in this new stage of EFOR a team of managers carrying the group’s values and deeply invested in its success. I am also proud to perpetuate our unique entrepreneurial model by significantly involving them. The introduction by RAISE of the philanthropic fund ”Invest for Childhood ‘ adds a societal dimension to our partnership, aligning our commercial issues and our commitments for a positive social impact. Together, we are more ready than ever to carry our ambitious project of becoming a global leader by 2028.”
Mathieu Blanc, Co-head of RAISE Invest, and Aymeric Marraud des Grottes, Partner of RAISE Invest, add “We are very proud to have participated in the structuring and development of EFOR in recent years. Our collaboration has allowed the group to strengthen its teams to support organic growth and by adding complementary expertise in life science thanks to the acquisition of CVO-Europe and Soladis. We approach this new stage with enthusiasm and are delighted to be able to accompany the management in this new challenge, aiming in particular to position the group as one of the world leaders in life science consulting.”
Arnaud Faure, Partner at Andera Partners, thus emphasizes that “Mathieu Roger and his team have established in less than 10 years one of the undisputed leaders in engineering consulting in the Life Sciences segment in Europe. The group benefits from solid fundamentals due to its operational excellence and efficient organization and we are delighted to be able to participate in the next development cycle, which will notably involve the continuation and acceleration of external growth, in France and abroad.”