Recommerce Group, a French and Swiss seller of refurbished smartphones under its own brand, has raised 50 million euros in funding. The investors were Capzanine, Creadev and Recommerce management.
PRESS RELEASE
Paris, 6 February 2018
Capzanine and Creadev – European private investment management funds – are joining forces with the management of Recommerce Group in a €50m fundraising.
This fundraising aims to support the company’s growth in countries where it already operates and its expansion into new territories as it capitalises on the rapidly growing market for reconditioned smartphones.
Recommerce Group, a key player in the circular economy and pioneer of smartphone reconditioning, was founded in 2009. It anticipates 30% market growth potential in the coming years, and rapid expansion in 2018 with revenues of over €50m. Operating around the world, Recommerce works with the largest European retailers and with carriers in France, Switzerland and Spain. It has a team of 70 people.
With over 60,000 mobiles bought back, reconditioned and resold every month, Recommerce has helped to ensure that consumers now instinctively consider buying a reconditioned mobile by giving them reliable, guaranteed products at fair and sustainable prices, and customer service identical to the standard in the new retail sector. Recommerce today boasts an estimated handset buyback market share of over 50% of France. The market for reconditioned mobiles is growing by over 20% annually worldwide and represents a new market currently worth 500 million euros in France alone. According to Strategy Analytics, more than 131 million units will be reconditioned in 2018 with an expected growth of +48% between 2017 and 2022.
Thanks to the Recommerce’s success and its mastery of its model, its growth phase was exceptionally strong, driven by technological know-how and an R&D unit at the cutting edge in terms of expertise and predictive analysis of the various resale markets around the world. The company has invested in artificial intelligence tools enabling it to produce multiple-year forecasts of the value of smartphones.
Recommerce’s model is aligned with that of the circular economy, which aims to rethink methods of production and consumption in order to use natural resources as efficiently as possible and therefore limit waste. The company is deeply committed to the development of this economic model, which combines environmental and economic issues and solutions.
Pierre-Etienne Roinat, Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Recommerce, says: “It is very exciting to see how far and how fast our initial, pioneering vision of reconditioning is spreading in Europe. This fundraising will enable us to develop these innovative products even more widely in the coming years against the backdrop of a paradigm shift in terms of consumer behaviour, and as part of the circular economy we are very attached to.”
According to Bruno Bonnin, a director at Capzanine, “this transaction dovetails neatly with the strategy of the Capzanine 4 Flex Equity fund, which seeks to support SMEs and mid-cap firms with high growth potential and enable them to continue growing. We were particularly impressed by the quality of Recommerce’s management team, which has combined growth with profitability while developing technological tools and strategic partnerships to lay the groundwork for growth over the coming years.”
Florent Thomann, executive director at CREADEV, adds: “We are very happy to join the founding and leadership team, Pierre-Etienne, Alain, Patrick, Antoine, Cédric et Benoit, as well as the rest of their team, at such a defining moment of the company’s expansion.Together, they achieved building a unique value proposition in their market and growing it rapidly. We place great value in supporting teams who have patiently built their project based on powerful human and technological fundamentals, and later demonstrated their growth capacity. By helping the team to focus on the long term and promoting commercial and global synergies with the brands of the Mulliez ecosystem, we are committed to fulfill this potential on a large scale.”
List of participants
Transaction arranger and investor: Capzanine (Bruno Bonnin, Thomas Lafougère), Creadev (Florent Thomann, Thibault Chatagnon)
Vendor M&A advisory: Bryan Garnier (Grégoire Revenu, Jonathan Foiret-Hurbin, Marc-Antoine Serfaty)
Vendor financial due diligence: KPMG (Antoine Bernabeu, Guillaume Staal)
Legal advisers to the company: Jones Day (Renaud Bonnet, Alice Baverez), Vendôme (Lionel Jung-Allégret, Nicolas Mazzella)
Legal advice (Capzanine): Agilys (Pierre Jouglard, Karine Violeau)
Strategic advice (Capzanine): Helix International (Florian Sabbag, Renaud Amiel)
Financial due diligence (Capzanine): Eight Advisory (Fabien Thieblemont, Florent Jothy)
ESG due diligence (Capzanine): Sirsa (Yannick Grandjean, Morgane Coiquil)
IT audit (Capzanine): 1630 conseil (Ivan Vassileff)
Mezzanine debt: Capzanine (Bruno Bonnin, Thomas Lafougère), Creadev (Florent Thomann, Thibault Chatagnon)
About Capzanine
Founded in 2004, Capzanine is a European independent private investment management fund. Capzanine supports businesses in their quest for growth, providing financial and industrial expertise to help them achieve success in their development and transfer phases. Capzanine delivers flexible long-term financing solutions to SMEs and mid-cap companies. Depending on the circumstances, Capzanine invests as a majority or minority shareholder and/or as a private debt provider (mezzanine, unitranche, senior debt), in unlisted small and mid-cap companies with an enterprise value of 30 million to 400 million euros. Although broad-based, Capzanine more particularly supports strong value-creating companies in the healthcare, technology, food and services sectors. Based in Paris and run by its partners, Capzanine currently has €2.5 billion in assets under management. Its most recent investments include: FitnessPark, Acteon, MCA, Tessi…
More information: http://capzanine.com Twitter: @capzanine
About Creadev
Launched in 2002, Creadev is a French private equity investment company backed by the Mulliez Family, with offices in Paris, Shanghai, New York and Nairobi.
The company operates with full autonomy, in line with its shareholder’s philosophy and according to the same entrepreneurial and governance principles, among which promoting empowerment of men is key.
Creadev focuses its investment on innovative as well as advanced companies which give access to essential goods and services for the many, such as food and healthcare, education and employment, sustainability.
About RECOMMERCE GROUP
RECOMMERCE GROUP is the european pioneer of buyback, refurbishment and sales of second hand smartphones since 2009. The group is working and dealing with renown European retailers and carriers in Europe.
RECOMMERCE GROUP has the most comprehensive and technological market approach. The company offers a wide range of premium refurbished smartphones as well as web and shops buyback solutions and dedicated services to mobile second life. RECOMMERCE GROUP buyback solution has already been deployed in more than 7,000 shops.
RECOMMERCE GROUP sells its refurbished smartphones under the Recommerce brand to a large network of retailers, carriers and insurance companies across Europe. Recommerce phones are guaranteed and quality certified. RECOMMERCE GROUP offers one of the largest panel of second hand phones with a quality of services equivalent to new smartphones.
Sustainable Development has always been a priority for RECOMMERCE GROUP that has always been mindful of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Avoid obsolescence, create a responsible consumption and participate to the circular economy are some of the company’s business drivers. Entrepreneurship, ethics, innovation, professionalism, and high quality are also part of the main pillars of RECOMMERCE GROUP everyday work life.
Since 2014, RECOMMERCE GROUP is certified ISO 14001 and since 2015 the Gold Label CERTIFIED REFURBISHED MOBILE and CERTIFIED RECYCLED MOBILE delivered by RCube.org. In 2017, RECOMMERCE GROUP received the prestigious GOLD GRADE ECOVADIS reward for its positive and mature Sustainable Procurement of its Corporate Social Responsibility.
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