Ardian has signed an agreement to invest EUR30m in the CLS Group, a provider of location services, environmental data collection, monitoring and ocean observation.
The existing shareholders – the CNES, the government agency responsible for French space policy in Europe, and Ifremer, the French research institute for exploitation of the sea – retain their stakes, while the minority shareholders sell their holdings in the company.
Ardian will work alongside CLS to strengthen the resources of the group and continue its internal and external expansion. The group’s strategy, which will be supported by Ardian, focuses on innovation as a driver for expanding its range of services and applications. The group also intends to increase its geographic footprint to provide global support to customers, including through acquisitions to consolidate the group’s skill portfolio.
CLS was founded in 1986 by the CNES and Ifremer to operate the ARGOS data collection and location system, which is responsible for protecting the environment and monitoring the development of oceans. It employs 500 people across 17 offices, and is present in more than 100 countries. CLS has expanded internationally by winning major contracts in several countries, most notably in Asia. This strategy has enabled the group to achieve double-digit growth over the past three years, while maintaining its profitability despite a difficult economic environment.
Christophe Vassal, managing director of the CLS Group, says: “During the last 10 years, we have been able to grow the group thanks to our ambitious development strategy and our shareholders’ support. We thank our exiting minority shareholders for their unconditional historical support. Today, CLS has four business units: localisation and data collection, space oceanography, radar applications and telematics. We plan to achieve a turnover of more than €90 million in 2013. The partnership with Ardian will provide us with the necessary resources to continue our development, largely through increasing our geographic footprint and securing larger contracts.”
Baudouin d’Hérouville, managing director, small market enterprise capital at Ardian, says: “We identified CLS as an attractive investment opportunity several months ago which fits perfectly with our investment strategy. CLS is a global market leader with excellent growth potential. This is a great opportunity to utilise our expertise, resources and global network to support CLS in its ambitious development plans, especially with regard to acquisitions, and notably in North America.”
