Bryan, Garnier & Co acts as Sole Placement Agent for Innov8's €24m Financing Round

Paris, June 5th 2015 – INNOV8 Group announces the signing of a €24 million financing round with CM-CIC Investissement, BNP Paris Principal Investments, BNP Paribas Développement and a group of individual investors. Bryan, Garnier & Co acted as sole placement agent for INNOV8 Group.

In 3 years, INNOV8 Group has become the European leader in the distribution of connected products (smartphones, connected objects and accessories) thanks to a strong organic development combined with a selective external growth strategy. The acquisition of Extenso Telecom (telecom products and services distributor) from Bouygues Telecom in 2012 and its fast and successful repositioning on the mobile phones and accessories distribution market allowed INNOV8 to gain a leading position on the French market within 18 months. In 2014, INNOV8 launched the first concept-store network dedicated to connected objects under the LICK brand following the acquisition of 17 of the main ThePhoneHouse stores in France. In November 2014, the Group announced the acquisition of Mobiltag, a French pioneer and leader in QR Codes solutions. More recently, in April 2015, INNOV8 acquired Ascendeo Group, the European specialist of design and distribution of mobile phone accessories. With 340 employees and nearly €360 million of pro-forma consolidated revenue in 2014, the Group benefits from a unique know-how in the distribution of connected products and operates one of the most innovative retail concept, positioning the Group as a pioneer in emerging distribution concepts.

With this fundraising, INNOV8 Group benefits from complementary resources to accelerate its development in France and Europe in order to strengthen its position as a leading player in the distribution of connected products. The Group intends to pursue its efforts to promote the ‘FrenchTech’ startups specialized in connected objects, enabling their distribution within all the national and international distribution channels currently addressed by the Group (Telecom Operators, Large Food Retailers, Large Specialty Retailers, Telecom Specialists, E-commerce Websites and new distribution channels).

Gregoire Revenu, Managing Partner at Bryan, Garnier & Co, explains: “This transaction is a perfect example of Bryan Garnier’s positioning over the last 20 years, consisting in financing listed or private European growth companies. Over the last few months, Bryan Garnier has already achieved a €25 million private placement for Jahia, an open source User Experience Management solution vendor, and a €100 million fundraising for Mérieux NutriSciences.”

Stéphane Bohbot, Chairman and Founder of INNOV8 Group, adds: “In a telecom sector experiencing deep and fast changes, we have to be able to accompany our clients in developing and promoting new offers built around smartphones and connected objects. In this perspective, we have developed a distribution 2.0 group combining a comprehensive product and service offer, with an unrivaled know-how and experience thanks to our LICK concept-store network. With this transaction, we give ourselves the means to pursue our dynamic and selective external growth with the aim of reinforcing our leading pan-European position, and pursuing our innovation strategy. Through this capital increase, I am also pleased to welcome French investors, who share our vision of the sector and of the tremendous business opportunities offered by this market. ”

For over a decade, Bryan Garnier has accompanied Stéphane Bohbot in his development projects and has supported him in 7 strategic transactions, including a €15 million private placement in 2009 for Modelabs Group, the disposal of Modelabs Group to Bigben Interactive in 2011, the acquisition by Innov8 of Extenso Telecom from Bouygues Telecom in 2012, the acquisition of a network of stores from ThePhoneHouse in 2014 and the merger of INNOV8 with ascendeo in April 2015.

 List of participants

About Innov8 Group  (www.innov8.fr)

In a world where Technology is becoming a lifestyle, INNOV8 Group wishes to create the Distribution 2.0 of high value-added connected products and services. Led by Stéphane Bohbot, the group reported a consolidated PF turnover of + €360 million in 2014 and has more than 340 employees throughout Extenso Telecom (1st distributor of smartphones & connected products in France - www.extenso-telecom.com) and ascendeo (European specialist in the design and distribution of mobile phone accessories – www.ascendeo.com ), LICK (1st retail network dedicated to connected objects - www.lick.fr) and Unplug (premium brand of accessories – www.unplug.com.hk).

About Bryan, Garnier & Co (www.bryangarnier.com)

Bryan, Garnier & Co is an independent investment bank specialized in European TMT, Healthcare and Renewable Energies growth companies. Bryan, Garnier & Co is positioned in three activities: Equity Research & Brokerage, Asset Management and Corporate Finance.

With more than 120 professionals based in London, Paris, New Delhi, New York and Geneva, Bryan, Garnier & Co combines the range of services and the expertise of top-tier investment banks with the level of attention to clients of a boutique.

Bryan, Garnier & Co has become a leader in advising European growth companies on strategic finance transactions such as mergers & acquisitions, equity capital market, LBOs, IPOs and private placement.

For more than 15 years, Bryan, Garnier & Co is an independent investment bank specialized in European growth companies.