Delphine Dinard joins Weinberg Capital Partners as Senior Director in charge of the defense fund WCP Eiréné Développement  

Weinberg Capital Partners, a leading player in small and mid-cap private equity, today announces the upcoming arrival of Delphine Dinard as Senior Director. She joins Lionel Mestre and David Lebain at the helm of WCP Eiréné Développement, the firm’s second fund dedicated to the “defense & security” theme, focused on small-cap and growth capital. With €400 million in commitments across its two vehicles, WCP Eiréné and WCP Eiréné Développement, and a team set to grow to around fifteen professionals, Weinberg Capital Partners builds on its position as a major player in defense financing in France and Europe.

Delphine Dinard brings nearly thirty years of experience in the private equity industry. She joined ACE Management in 2000, an investment firm with deep sector expertise in aerospace, defense, space and cybersecurity, where she led numerous investment transactions in the aerospace, defense, space, maritime, energy and technology sectors.

Following Tikehau Capital’s acquisition of ACE Management in 2018, she joined Tikehau Capital’s teams, becoming Executive Director within the Aerospace & Defense Strategy dedicated to investments in industrial SMEs and mid-caps supporting European sovereignty and the consolidation of the aerospace and defense supply chain.

An engineering graduate of UTC-Compiègne and holder of the HEC-Entrepreneurs Master’s degree, Delphine Dinard is a graduate of the 74^th “Defense Policy” session of the Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN, French Institute for Advanced National Defense Studies). She also holds the rank of colonel in the citizen reserve of the French Air and Space Force.

A second vehicle to support the defense industrial base

Last June, Weinberg Capital Partners announced the launch of a second vehicle dedicated to supporting companies in the defense industrial and technological base (BITD), focused on small-cap LBO and growth capital.

WCP Eiréné Développement thus builds on the WCP Eiréné fund, launched in 2020, and completes Weinberg Capital Partners’ offering in the defense and security segment. With a target size of €120 million, the new vehicle will target investment tickets of between €5 million and €15 million, in response to the growing equity needs of BITD SMEs to finance ownership transitions, R&D, international expansion and increased industrial capacity.

The fund will target LBO and growth-capital transactions, primary or secondary, majority or minority stakes, with 10 to 15 portfolio companies targeted across France and Europe. It will be classified as Article 8 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Delphine Dinard will be responsible for deploying and managing the fund, whose team is currently being built.