The Epiktet group is initiating its diversification into the home care sector with the acquisition of Amelis, a former subsidiary of Sodexo Home Care from the Halifax fund
Paris, June 24, 2024.
The Epiktet group, the leader in home childcare with Kinougarde and number two in tutoring with Completude, is entering a new phase with the acquisition of Amelis, which specialises in home help for the elderly and dependents.
Serving more than 45,000 families and achieving a turnover of more than €110M, the Epiktet group, supported since 2021 by RAISE Invest and GENEO Capital Entrepreneur, has managed to establish itself as the leader in childcare in France (Kinougarde and Momji brands) and home tutoring (Completude brand).
On the strength of these positions in its historical markets, Epiktet is initiating a diversification operation towards the home care market, the leading market for personal services and in continuous growth, with the acquisition of Amelis, from the American investment fund The Halifax Group. With this acquisition, Epiktet is pursuing its external growth strategy, particularly after the acquisition of Momji in September 2023, and confirms its ambitions in the personal services business.
Amelis, previously a subsidiary of Sodexo Home Care, will be the second branch of the Epiktet group alongside the "childhood" division (via the Kinougarde, Momji and Completude brands). This operation is part of a strong desire to address one of the major challenges of the coming years: ageing well at home. The group intends to capitalize on the many complementarities between the two businesses and allow Amelis to rely on the resources that have made Epiktet successful, in particular through innovation and data.
Amelis, specialist in the support of the elderly and dependent
Founded in 2002, Amelis is a leading player in home support for the elderly and dependents. Amelis offers a tailor-made support plan adapted to the needs of each of its beneficiaries with a 24/7 intervention capacity (help with autonomy, household help, help with meals, etc.). Under the umbrella of Sodexo since 2012 before being taken over by The Halifax Group in 2023, Amelis has experienced a dynamic growth trajectory and now employs 1800 carers across its network of 47 agencies in France, and supports more than 6,000 beneficiaries on a daily basis.
Hervé Lecat, President of the Epitket Group, comments: "I am delighted to welcome the Amelis teams to the Epiktet group. Home help services have in common, with tutoring and childcare, that they are professions that have a lot of meaning: the sense of helping others. We share common values around the virtuous circle: 1. Fulfilled and loyal employees deliver a better service to families. 2. Satisfied families are loyal and contribute to the good health of the company. 3. Sharing value with employees allows them to flourish. We will be able to share our best practices with Amelis to deliver a quality service to dependent people."
Julien Delcour, co-founder of Amelis, comments: "This operation will allow us to benefit from the know-how and resources of the Epiktet group. By focusing on the quality of the support of our beneficiaries and the well-being of our employees, we will quickly become one of the market leaders. »
Aymeric Marraud des Grottes, Partner of RAISE Invest adds: "This acquisition is strategic for the Epiktet group because it marks the beginning of our development in home care, a large, fast-growing market with a very positive social impact. As soon as we acquired a stake in Epiktet in October 2021, we identified the opportunity to diversify into this new sector, convinced that the group's operational excellence, thanks in particular to its tech and data approach, would be a key asset in this market."
François Picarle, Partner at GENEO Capital Entrepreneur, comments: "Helping the elderly and dependent people at home is a major societal issue, at the heart of the growth story that we have shared with Hervé Lecat and his teams since we took a stake in Epiktet. By capitalizing on its strengths, Epiktet will be able to accelerate Amelis' growth and provide the quality of service expected to as many people as possible. We are pleased to support this meaningful merger, which is perfectly in line with GENEO Capital Entrepreneur's raison d'être: positive finance. »
Investment teams and advisors involved in the transaction
Buyers:
- Groupe Epiktet: Hervé Lecat
- RAISE Invest: Aymeric Marraud des Grottes, Mouncef Daifallah
- GENEO Capital Entrepreneur : François Picarle, Louis Charrier
Sellers: The Halifax Group
Buyers' advice:
– Alvarez & Marsal: Frederic Steiner
– Shearman & Sterling: Xavier Norlain, Vanessa Hamiane
– Clearwater International: Benjamin Zayat
– Mazars Avocats
Press contacts :
Epiktet
Céline Rousselet
01 56 58 58 52
RAISE Group
| The Arcane
Antoine Lévèque 06 67 06 80 26 |
RAISE
Claire-Lise Lecuyer-Moreau 06 45 08 48 10 |
GENEO capital entrepreneur
| Verbate
Cyrille Lachèvre 06 20 42 12 08 Barbara Baudier 06 68 53 28 49 |
GENEO
Géraldine Fontaine-Boireau 07 88 51 59 01 |
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About Epiktet:
The Epiktet group was founded in 1984 as an organization delivering tutoring courses in small groups under the brands "Objectif Bac" and then "Objectif Math". The company took the name "Completude" in 2000 and today offers private lessons at home and group lessons in person or remotely. Allowing children and teenagers to progress, gain confidence and regain a taste for a subject is therefore the primary reason for Completude's existence.
Kinougarde was created in 2010 to offer a home childcare service before or after school or nursery, on Wednesdays and during school holidays. The objective is to offer a quality service to simplify the lives of parents by ensuring the well-being of their children. The offer is aimed at families with the youngest child aged 0 to 11 years.
Kinougarde is the employer of its workers, who are selected after being tested on their reflexes in terms of safety, health and hygiene of the child. Their motivation and ability to give the children a playful moment during childcare are assessed during a face-to-face recruitment interview.
Mômji was created in 2009 and has become the leader in English-speaking childcare, with national coverage in the 10 main French cities and more than 3,000 families supported.
Mômji joined the Epiktet group in September 2023 to take advantage of the group's tools and support and develop in the provinces thanks to the Kinougarde locations.
With the acquisition of Amelis, the Epiktet group is continuing its development by offering a service activity to the elderly and disabled. Amelis aims to become one of the leaders in this activity through organic growth coupled with the acquisition of service providers.
For more information: www.completude.com, and www.kinougarde.com, www.momji.fr and www.amelis-services.com
About Raise Invest:
Founded in 2013 by Clara Gaymard and Gonzague de Blignières and with €2bn under management, the RAISE Group is a pioneer in committed finance. A mission-driven company with a unique model of sharing success for entrepreneurs, RAISE is organized around three areas of activity: investment companies in companies of all sizes and in all sectors, innovation activities and philanthropic activities.
RAISE Invest is a private equity firm with €650 million under management. The fund supports French mid-caps, growing and with high potential, with a turnover of between €25 million and €500 million by taking stakes of between €10 million and €60 million to support their development.
The RAISE Group is based on a financing mechanism that combines profitability and generosity since the investment teams donate 50% of their profit-sharing to finance an internal endowment fund, RAISE Sherpas, dedicated to supporting startups. This pioneering system in France makes it possible to create a virtuous ecosystem, combining large groups and institutional shareholders, mid-caps and startups.
For more information: www.raise.co
About GENEO Capital Entrepreneur:
The raison d'être of GENEO Capital Entrepreneur is to provide the real economy with positive finance that reconciles performance and meaning.
Designed to reveal the potential for value creation, job creation and impact of SMEs and mid-caps, GENEO Capital Entrepreneur has nearly €560 million under management. In particular, it manages the "evergreen" investment company GENEO Capital, which has a lifespan of 99 years and whose capital is majority owned by families and entrepreneurs. GENEO thus provides tailor-made capital, which adapts to the pace of each company and brings responsiveness and flexibility. Its resources increase steadily as GENEO and the companies it invests develop.
As a business partner, GENEO is mobilized to provide support for the execution of structuring, growth and transformation projects thanks to its teams, but also its
specialized business partners (external growth, liability structuring, positive impact, digital and innovation). It also has a platform of more than 70 independent experts and a Community of more than 220 families and entrepreneurs, offering a sharing of experiences and a business network that is unique in France. The terms of this operational support are adapted to the specific needs of each company and formalized jointly by the GENEO team, the management team and the other shareholders of the company in a "Growth Notebook".
Passionate about those who make, create and want to move the lines, the only ambition of the GENEO team is to take that of each entrepreneur to the highest level.
At GENEO, when you invest, you invest!
For more information: www.geneocapitalentrepreneur.com