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CAPZA Growth Tech acquires minority stake in Xenocs

CAPZA, an independent management company and leading player in private investments in European SME, has invested in Xenocs, a French deep tech company, through its new Growth Tech strategy. 

Founded in 2000, Xenocs is a spin-off from the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL). The company operates on the nanoscale material characterisation market through the development and production of SAXS — Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering — instruments and software. It has made important technological advances in X-ray optics, as well as in data collection, processing and analysis software. This progress allows many industrial sectors to better optimize R&D, fabrication processes and control product quality. For example, by analyzing structure at the nanoscale, SAXS instruments help pharma giants characterising proteins and developing new drugs. 

Headquartered in Grenoble (France), Xenocs operates internationally through four subsidiaries based in the US, China, Singapore, Denmark and through an extensive network of agents in 12 countries. With a turnover of EUR16 million in 2020, Xenocs achieved a strong and profitable 25 per cent annual growth in the last five years. The company currently employs 72 employees. 

Owned and led by its founders Peter Høghøj and Frédéric Bossan, Xenocs is recognised as the most expert and innovative player in SAXS. Its products are considered having the highest level of performance, which gives the company a strong competitive advantage in terms of brand recognition and a sustainable base of customers, thus ensuring recurring revenues. 

With CAPZA’s support, Xenocs’ ambition is: 

  • To accelerate its commercial development 
  • To create new data processing and analysis software products to enlarge market accessibility
  • To enrich its current offer by potentially acquiring companies with adjacent and complementary technologies

“We are delighted to support Xenocs in this new phase of its development alongside its founders to build a worldwide leader in nanoscale material characterization. Led by a competent and highly involved international management team, the Group shows great potential thanks to its strategic and technological position in SAXS market,” says Jean-Luc Cyrot, Partner, CAPZA Growth Tech. 

“The entry of CAPZA Growth Tech in our capital is a steppingstone for the implementation of our ambitious growth strategy. Our goal is to position Xenocs as the leading supplier of the SAXS market,” adds Frédéric Bossan, Managing Director of Xenocs 

“We are very much looking forward to working with the CAPZA Growth Tech team as we continue our journey. Their expertise and support will be crucial regarding the development of Xenocs, on both the organic and external growth sides,” says Peter Høghøj, CEO of Xenocs 

CAPZA enters the capital of the Group as a minority shareholder, while Xenocs’ founders will maintain a majority share. 

This will be a new transaction of CAPZA Growth Tech5 which is currently under fundraising. 

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