Supporting the growth of French companies in the technology sector so that they become world-class champions: this is the objective of the €100mn investment fund launched by Caisse des Dépôts, the new Euronext Tech Croissance index, and the €1bnn mobilisation over 3 years by Bpifrance.
French tech startups are progressing in leaps and bounds and encountering significant funding needs in the growth or later stages (before being listed). A dedicated investment mechanism was called for to help them meet these needs.
Caisse des Dépôts and Euronext committed to supporting tech businesses
As the number one institutional investor in French listed SMEs, in July Caisse des Dépôts decided to invest €100mn through its management subsidiary dedicated to listed SMEs, CDC Croissance, in Euronext Paris listed mid and small caps in the tech industry, with a capital of less than €1bn.
To enable these SMEs (who need capital over the long term) to showcase their full potential as regards French, pan-European and even international investors willing to support them, Euronext, together with the teams at CDC Croissance, has created a dedicated index: Euronext Tech Croissance. This is made up of 150 high-potential firms, with a market cap in the region of €25m and €1bn, and representative of the tech sector across-the-board*.
Bpifrance is poised to invest €1bn over 3 years
Bpifrance is ramping up its support for emerging French tech champions by investing €1bn over the next 3 years in SMEs in the growth and later stages.
Accordingly, Bpifrance will shortly be subscribing to the Partech Growth II and Gaia Growth I funds. This momentum is expected to pick up in the coming weeks with subscriptions to several other leading private French funds. Two funds active in the tech and life sciences sector are particularly on the verge of being finalised.
In terms of its activity as a direct investor, Bpifrance has already increased the size of Large Venture, its investment fund positioned on the growth segment, to €1bn.
Finally, Bpifrance will manage a private fund on behalf of private French institutional investors, with a target size of €500mn, dedicated to venture capital funds capable of supporting their late-stage stakes, and to growth funds.
* CleanTech (renewable energy sources, waste processing, etc.), AdTech (digital advertising), BioTech, SportTech, FinTech (digital finance), IoT (Internet of Things), FoodTech, EdTech and more.