#LBO

WCP acquires a majority stake in Vertical Sea

06/28/2022

WCP announces the completion of the acquisition of a majority stake in Vertical Sea, a French engineering, consulting and project management group offering value added services in the improvement of the living environment.

Since its establishment in 2011 by the current CEO Louis-Christophe Moissonnier, and through its different subsidiaries (Builders & Partners, Soler IDE, Sol Conseil) with complementary expertise, Vertical Sea has managed to expand its presence all over France (9 agencies) as well as Morocco.

The group has proven to be a leader in a rapidly changing market, being at the heart of the environmental, energy and digital transition challenges, and covering the full spectrum of services for its clients: from project conception, supervision, and coordination to delivery. Vertical Sea has diversified its areas of expertise through organic and external developments (5 acquisitions) allowing it to act as a full-fledged consultancy in the most technical elements such as structures, facades & fluids as well as environment, hydrology & geotechnics.

The emblematic projects the group has recently contracted are evidence of its multi-technical competency and of the trust that clients put in the group’s hands. Among them: the construction of the Nantes University Hospital, the construction of PSG’s training facility, the renovation of the travel retail spaces of the Montparnasse station. The diversity of the group’s underlying markets (offices, health, housing, education, etc.) guarantees resilience and strong growth potential.

With 350 employees, Vertical Sea was able to double its revenues in 3 years, reaching more than €45m to date.

This acquisition will enable Vertical Sea to pursue its structuring efforts in order to seize the expected market growth, accelerate market consolidation, hence reinforcing its market share in its core business and developing new verticals, client segments, and geographies.

The significant reinvestment of numerous managers and executives alongside WCP, shows their deep conviction in the group’s development.

This transaction, the seventh of the LBO WCP#3 fund, is at the heart of WCP know-how: a primary transaction in a sector well known by the investment team with a buy and build strategy.

“From our first meetings, we were impressed by the entrepreneurial culture and commitment of Louis-Christophe Moissonnier and his team. The wealth of its know-how and its positioning on very current issues such as energy and environmental transition will allow the Group to continue its strong growth trajectory for 10 years. We are particularly pleased to be able to support the management team in this next stage of development.”
Benjamin Rousseau-Calisti – Senior Director at WCP
“Vertical Sea has changed dimensions in recent years through strong organic growth and acquisitions that have allowed us to diversify our portfolio. Our development perspectives are very well oriented, supported by favorable trends and a business culture that sets us apart. We have found in WCP a team animated by a deep entrepreneurial culture and strongly involved in CSR challenges: the ideal partner for the years to come. We are convinced that this partnership will be very fruitful.”
Louis-Christophe Moissonnier – Founder & CEO of Vertical Sea

About Weinberg Capital Partners

Founded in 2005, WCP is an independent investment company historically active in buyout capital. In 2008, it broadened its scope to include real estate assets, and since 2015 has been investing in the capital of French listed SMEs/SMIs as a minority shareholder with an active, friendly and long-term approach. In 2020, WCP added to its capacity to invest in SMEs with a minority strategy focused on sustainable development issues, which offers extra-financial support to better prepare companies for environmental and societal challenges.

With €1.3 billion in assets raised, WCP is a significant player in the mid-market equity segment in France.

WCP is a signatory of the PRI, a member of the International Climate Initiative and an active responsible investor.

About Vertical Sea

Vertical Sea is a group of project management and engineering firms having complementary skill sets founded upon and united by shared values and a common vision of what service should be in a world of change.

Players responsible for regional development, real estate, construction, infrastructure and industry face a threefold challenge in attempting to balance societal, environmental and economic concerns. Rising to those challenges involves those who provide services for those players, i.e. management and engineering trades, rethinking their models. They must work towards symbiosis between all the different skill-sets involved, with due respect for individual cultures, whilst simultaneously fostering mutually-enriching interaction and collaboration. This inevitably leads to greater understanding of the overall challenges as the enterprise becomes a crucible of innovation and performance, doing away with restraints and obstacles.

The group Vertical Sea has endeavoured, for the past 10 years and around this central premise, to build up a group bringing together a wide range of experts in real estate consulting, engineering in the fields of energy, the environment, construction – all trades and professions – geotechnics, hydrogeology, contaminated soils and sites, applied digital services and project management. Relationships within this community are founded on fluidity, empathy, presumed trust and a considerate, but not complacent, approach, qualities which are, in turn, projected out towards our clients and partners.

From that whole, Vertical Sea has been formed and all the men and women who work for the group draw more than enough strength from its engagement to generate a dynamic which gives them a strong sense of purpose and creates value for our clients in equal measure.

Press contacts

• Weinberg Capital Partners
Bérengère Beaujean
Communication Manager
berengere.beaujean@weinbergcapital.com
+ 33 7 85 58 29 73

• Vertical Sea
Mylène Moissonnier
Communication
mmoissonnier_e@vertical-sea.com
+ 33 6 48 16 82 51

Investors relations contact

• Weinberg Capital Partners
Laurence Roy-Rojo
Partner, Investor Relations
laurence.royrojo@weinbergcapital.com
+ 33 6 31 00 51 65

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