PRESS RELEASE
NextStage AM launches NextStage, its investment company
An innovative platform for long-term investments in European 21st-century mid-cap companies
Paris, June 15, 2015
NextStage AM is launching NextStage, an investment company whose goal is to provide an innovative
approach to long-term equity investment in European mid-cap companies, which make up almost 40% of the
economy. NextStage is targeting, as a first step, a capital of €250m and intends to rapidly be listed on the
Euronext stock market. This vehicle is currently open to major private and institutional investors and will be
accessible to individual investors after its introduction on the Euronext stock exchange. NextStage's first
capital increase of €100m will be used to make its initial investments which have already been identified. The
company will further increase its capital by €150m by the end of this year.
The launch of NextStage represents a key stage in the development of NextStage AM, majority owned by
Grégoire Sentilhes, Jean David Haas, and their managing partners Vincent Bazi and Nicolas de Saint Etienne,
and benefits from the active support of its two leading shareholders, Artémis ( holding of Francois Pinault),
and Amundi ( the first asset manager in Europe). The first NextStage investor round attracted major
institutional shareholders – Amundi, Fonds de Garantie des Assurances (FGA0) – and entrepreneurs –
Artémis, Téthys, the former CEO of Castorama and La Senlisienne – most of whom have been supporting
NextStage for almost ten years.
NextStage firmly grounds its investment strategy in the accelaration of the third industrial revolution and
positions itself with regard to four key trends that are transforming the value added chain of the global
economic landscape: the economy led by the value of our emotions and the quality of the customer
experience, the on-demand economy , the industrial internet, and the positive economy (or green growth).
This industrial and entrepreneurial vision has guided NextStage AM's investment strategy for more than ten
years.
NextStage backs entrepreneurs with long-term investments in their companies, champions in their markets
and already profitable, with revenue ranging from €10m to €500m, with a core target between 20 and 200m.
Investments will range from €5m to €40m. The goal is to fund the growth of these companies by supporting
them in their innovation strategy, internationalization or external growth. NextStage's portfolio break-down
will amount up to 75% of total portfolio invested in unlisted mid-cap companies, and the remainder in midcap companies listed on Euronext or Alternext.
The launch of NextStage heralds a major change in the financing of mid-cap companies, suffering historically
and Europe from insufficient capital (8% for France, 5% for Italy, 26% for Germany, compared to 79% annual
financing flows in capital to mid-cap companies in the United States).
The entrepreneurs of mid cap companies are the leading players in growth, competitiveness and job
creation. Between 2002 and 2010, they created 85% of jobs in the European Union.
“The exponential acceleration of the third industrial revolution has created a unique opportunity to invest
alongside talented entrepreneurs heading up 21st-century mid-cap companies and expanding on a global
scale from Europe. We believe that this will give rise to a profound structural transformation of investors
expectations on long-term savings. , and of the expectations of entrepreneurs contributing to the new
economic trends of the economy led by the value of our emotions, the industrial internet, the on-demand
economy and the positive economy (or green growth). NextStage, which has grown alongside its
entrepreneurs based on patient capital, proposes an innovative approach to generate sustained value
creation over time,” explains Grégoire Sentilhes, Chairman & CEO of NextStage AM.
“Artémis has actively supported and participated in the implementation of NextStage AM's strategy since
2008. The creation of the new NextStage platform is an innovative project that will support entrepreneurs in
accelerating the growth of their companies in a long-term perspective. I am very pleased to be participating
in this initiative,” says François Pinault, founder of Artémis and of the Kering group.
The NextStage Supervisory Board appointed Jean-Francois Sammarcelli Chairman at its meeting of June 12th.
About NextStage AM
An independent management company, approved by the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) in 2002, and based in Paris,
NextStage AM is one of the pioneers and leaders in growth equity in France. NextStage AM invests with talented entrepreneurs in a
limited number of innovative growth SMEs and mid-cap companies (62 in the portfolio at December 31, 2014, representing €2bn in
revenue and 17,000 employees), throughout France and Europe, providing entrepreneurial investment expertise and substantial
operating experience. NextStage AM accompanies businesses over the long term, whether unlisted or listed on Alternext and
Euronext B and C exchanges. It provides them with the means to accelerate their growth and their innovative capabilities so that they
become the “champions” in their markets, in Europe and abroad, through organic growth and/or acquisitions.
NextStage AM was co-founded by Grégoire Sentilhes, its Chairman & CEO, who together with Chief Operating Officer Jean David
Haas and managing partners Nicolas de Saint Etienne and Vincent Bazi own 75% of the share capital. The remainder is held in equal
parts by Artémis, the financial holding company of the Francois Pinault family, and Amundi, Europe’s leading asset manager with
€960bn under management. NextStage, which manages €460m, has a strategic alliance with Matignon Investissement & Gestion, a
long-standing development capital firm with €200m under management. The alliance thus manages a total of €660m.
NextStage AM is deeply involved in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Europe and globally, throughout the world through its
commitment to the “G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance ( G20 YEA) ,” “Citizen Entrepreneurs” and “France 2020.”
NextStage counsel:
-Structuring: JM Conseil (Jean-Marc Moriani) & Ricol Lasteyrie Corporate Finance (René Ricol and JeanFrançois Sablier)
- Legal and Fiscal: Cabinet Ginestie (Philippe Ginestie, François Devedjian, Pierre Mudet and Brigitte
Berdugo)
- Regulations: Cabinet Rossi (Jacques Rossi) & PCI (Stéphane Salavera)
- Audits: KPMG (Gérard Gaultry)
Publicis Consultants press contacts:
Stéphanie Tabouis
Christina Bel
stephanie.tabouis@consultants.publicis.fr christina.bel@mslfrance.com
+33 (0)6 03 84 05 03
+33 (0)6 61 61 67 53
NextStage AM contact:
Gwenaël Hedoux
gh@nextstage.com
+33 (0)1 44 29 99 04
www.nextstage.com
www.nextstage.com
Theresa Vu
theresa.vu@mslfrance.com
+33 (0)6 60 38 86 38
APPENDICES
THE TREE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY TRANSFORMED BY THE
THIRD INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
THE INDUSTRIAL VISION AT THE HEART OF NEXTSTAGE'S INVESTMENT
STRATEGY IN 21ST-CENTURY MID-CAP COMPANIES