OPTIMUM RAISES €14 MILLION FROM PARIS FONDS VERT, AMUNDI PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS AND HISTORICAL FINANCIAL SHAREHOLDERS: SOUTH INVESTMENT REGION, A+ FINANCE AND SCR PROVENCALE AND CORSICA (BANQUE POPULAIRE MÉDENTRÉE)
OPTIMUM is an indisputable player in Fleet Optimization thanks to the intelligent processing of connected data. Today, he announced that he had raised €14 million from new funds:
- Paris Fonds Vert, a fund managed by Demeter and supported by the City of Paris,
- Amundi Private Equity Funds, and new investments from three historical shareholders: the Région Sud Investissement co-investment fund advised by the Turenne Group for the management of its holdings
- The Cap DéVELOPPEMENT fund managed by A+Finance and SCR Provençale et Corse, a subsidiary of Banque Popantique Méditerranée.
A leader in connected car services
The development of connected services is changing the way businesses manage their vehicle fleets. Fleet managers are looking for services that can reduce operating costs in a measurable way. They also want to reduce the environmental impact of their fleets. The evolution towards electric vehicles has become a priority. New forms of mobility, such as carsharing and carpooling, are at the heart of their expectations.
Created by Daniel Vassallucci in Aix-en-Provence in 2006, Optimum meets these expectations. It has adopted a data collection and management platform that is constantly updated. It is connected to all players in the automotive sector (manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, suppliers of services in the broad sense of fleets, etc.). On this basis, the company has developed a global range of services for fleet managers. This offer includes assistance, fleet management and optimization, vehicle geolocation, driver behavior monitoring and carsharing/carpooling.
These services are offered with a modular approach and in the form of a subscription. Optimum helps its customers to reduce their consumption of energy and consumables and their environmental impact. Gradually it helps to switch to other transport solutions (carpooling/electric vehicles). Its services allow significant discounts:
- GHG emissions from the fleets operated (2.7 tons CO2 eq/vehicle/year)
- energy consumption (8.5 MWh/vehicle/year).
The Group, based in France and Africa, has a total of more than 80,000 vehicles under contract owned or leased by a total of 4,000 companies and local authorities of various sizes. Approximately 30% of these vehicle fleets are located in the Paris region. The Group employs 69 people.
Industrialize the provision of services to fleet managers
Optimum today announced a €14 million funding.Paris Fonds Vert, managed by Demeter and supported by the City of Paris, is contributing €8 million and is playing the lead role in the operation.Amundi Private Equity Funds is contributing €2 million. The historical financial shareholders also participate in:
- the SCR Provençale et Corse, a subsidiary of Banque Popaire Méditerranée, with €0.5 million
- South Investment Region, advised by the Turenne Group, with €2 million
- Cap Développement, managed by A+Finance, with €1.5 million
The raising is mainly intended to finance the Group and to a small extent to the liquidity of historical Business Angels.
At the end of the operation Daniel Vassallucci retained control and the presidency of the company.
The company has a twofold ambition. It wishes to continue its establishment on the fast-growing French market for connected fleet management services. The priority challenge is to equip an increasing part of existing professional vehicle fleets. These connections will allow vehicles to access Optimum's varied services. This will contribute to optimizing fleet management.
Optimum is also targeting new European markets. The objective is to adapt services to the specificities of each market. This expansion will take place mainly through external growth. The company also wants to strengthen its presence in Africa. Present on the continent since 2015, it has subsidiaries in Morocco and Ivory Coast.
Daniel Vassallucci, President and Founder of Optimum declares:
” I am very happy to see Optimum take this next step. This fund raising, carried out with investors who share both our ambitions and our values. It is undoubtedly the starting point for the construction of an international French group in the field of connected services for car fleets. Our growth ambitions are built on two axes. On the one hand, a conquest of a fleet, in France and abroad through external growth, in order to very quickly reach several hundreds of thousands of operated vehicles. On the other hand, an acceleration of the implementation of the strategy of complementary value-added services offered to managers (advice, delegated management, etc.), through partnerships or acquisitions. ”.
Lionel Cormier, Managing Partner of Demeter (Paris Green Fund) declares:
” We are very happy to support Optimum and its managers in their growth in France and internationally. We are convinced by the technological quality of Optimum's solutions and by their relevance in meeting the needs of professional fleet managers whose priority is both to control their cost (TCO) and to reduce their environmental impact. ASo, the Optimum's services are like an accelerator in the conversion of fleets towards green mobility and in particular towards electric vehicles. Through this investment by Paris Fonds Vert, Demeter is bringing all its expertise and network to contribute to the development of an international champion of sustainable mobility ”.
Investors:
- Demeter: Lionel Cormier, Eric Vincent
- Amundi Private Equity Funds: Julien Jaud, Frédéric Labia
- South Region Investment advised by the Turenne Group: Marie Desportes
- A+Finance: Jean-Michel Sibué
- SCR Provençale & Corsica: Sauveur Cascone
Tips:
- Company financial advice: goetzpartners (Guillaume Piette, Antoine Leclere, Camille Périssère)
- Company legal assistance: Cabinet Lamartine (Clyve Monfredo, Jessica Bianchi)
- Investor legal assistance: Latournerie Wolfrom (Christian Wolfrom, Justine Conrard),
- Legal assistance for SCR Provençale and Corsica: SCP Bollet & Associés (Denis Periano, Jean-Baptiste Deprez)
- Legal review: Latournerie Wolfrom (Christian Wolfrom, Justine Conrard, Justine Conrard, Marie-Hélène Tonnellier, Etienne Guillou, Sarah-Jane Mirou, Claire Decoux Laroudie and Sophie Koenig)
- Financial review: ACA Nexia (Laurent Cazebonne, Samy Chiffour)
About Optimum:
Optimum is a French Tech Pass company, certified Bpi Excellence. The company has nearly 70 employees. It has more than 14 years of expertise in the connected vehicle market; it designs, develops and markets innovative solutions. These solutions are aimed at businesses and communities with a fleet of cars. They also target automotive players: rental companies, distributors, insurers, etc. Present in France and internationally, Optimum manages more than 80,000 equipped vehicles. These vehicles belong to a portfolio of more than 4,000 professional customers.
https://www.optimum-automotive.com
Press contacts:
Communication: Franck Gaultier/f.gaultier@optimum-automotive.com/07 88 68 49 22
Press agency: Astrid Sergeant/asergeant@agence-sergeantpaper.fr/07 77 70 71 73//07 77 70 71 73
About Demeter
Demeter (www.demeter-im.com) is a major European player in private equity for the energy and ecological transition. Its funds invest between 1 and 30 million euros to support companies in the sector. They support innovative startups, SMEs and fast-growing ETI companies, as well as infrastructure projects.
The Demeter team is made up of 35 people based in Paris, Grenoble, Metz, Madrid and Munster. Demeter manages a portfolio of 1 billion euros and has made 130 investments since 2005. Paris Fonds Vert is a growth capital fund with a territorial impact. It was created at the initiative of the City of Paris. Its objective is to accelerate the energy and ecological transition of large cities.
Press contact: Lionel Cormier, Managing Partner/lionel.cormier@demeter-im.com/01 43 12 53 40
About Amundi Private Equity Funds
With 7.5 billion euros in assets under management (as at 30 June 2019), Amundi Private Equity Funds offers its individual and institutional clients a wide range of products built according to their needs. Clients can invest in two types of products: direct funds dedicated to taking direct shares in unlisted companies (in the development and transmission stages) and funds of funds dedicated to investments in private equity, private debt and infrastructure funds.
For more information: www.amundi-pef.com
About Amundi
Amundi is the leading European asset manager in terms of assets under management and ranks in the top 10 worldwide. The Group manages 1,563 billion euros and has six main management platforms. Amundi offers its clients in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas a wide range of expertise and investment solutions in active and passive management and in real and alternative assets. Amundi customers also have access to a comprehensive range of tools and services. Headquartered in Paris, Amundi has been listed on the stock exchange since November 2015.
Thanks to its unique research capabilities and the talent of nearly 4,500 employees and market experts based in 37 countries, Amundi provides individuals, institutional and corporate clients with innovative savings and investment solutions to meet their needs, return objectives and specific risk profiles.
Amundi. Trust has to be earned.
Visit www.amundi.com for more information or to find the Amundi team near you.
Press contact: Geetha Chandrasegaram - Tel: +33 1 76 37 02 73 - Geetha.chandrasegaram@amundi.com
About South Investment Region
Région Sud Investissement is the regional co-investment fund created in 2010 by the Sud Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur Region to support the emergence and development of regional growth companies. This SAS, endowed with €80 million, received support from Europe through the ERDF fund for 50% of its capital. Since July 2011, this Fund, advised by the Turenne Group for the management of its holdings, has already invested in 87 regional companies for a total amount of €42.9m.
For more information: www.regionsudinvestiement.com
About the Turenne Group
Advising Région Sud Investissement for the management of its investments, the Turenne Group is one of the leaders in private equity in France, supporting entrepreneurs for 20 years in their projects of innovation, development and the transfer of their company. An independent management company approved by the AMF and owned by its employees, the Turenne Group has more than one billion euros under management as of June 30, 2019. Its teams, made up of 61 professionals, including 46 investors, based in Paris, Marseille, Lille (Nord Capital, in partnership with Crédit Agricole Nord de France), Lyon and Metz, support more than 250 business leaders, in the sectors of health, hotels, hotels, hotels, new technologies, distribution or innovative services.
For more information: www.turennecapital.com
