Software & Fintech, M&A

Bryan, Garnier & Co acts as Sole Financial Advisor to Cathay Capital & Wedia’s management team in the public tender offer for Wedia

Founded in 2000, Wedia has developed a unique offering of Digital Asset Management and Social Media Management solutions that allow it to meet its European and international clients’ most advanced needs in managing and distributing their digital content.

The company has more than 4,000 clients and is one of the top five European players in Digital Asset Management and Social Media Management. 
 
In 2022, Wedia completed its acquisition of Iconosquare to extend its offering with tools for distributing its clients’ content on social media and to measure and improve performance. 
Wedia also aims to enhance its SaaS offerings with the most advanced AI technologies to meet the needs of marketing and communications professionals. 
 
Cathay Capital will enable Wedia to continue its development in the fields of Digital Asset and Social Media Management, and will also provide Wedia with the financial resources necessary to finance its growth initiatives and a long-term investment horizon conducive to their implementation.

Bryan, Garnier & Co has mobilised its expert teams in Mergers & Acquisitions and Equity Capital Markets to support Cathay Capital & Wedia's management team through the public tender offer and squeeze-out processes.

In July 2024, Bryan, Garnier & Co supported Mercure, a new company jointly created by Cathay Capital & Wedia’s management team, to secure a controlling block of 58.0% of the company’s share capital from key individual and institutional shareholders (including Nextstage and Amplegest), followed by a simplified tender offer. 
The offer price of €30.50, representing a 14.7% premium versus the 180-day VWAP, was subject to an increase of an additional €1.25 in the event of reaching the squeeze-out threshold of 90% of the capital. 
 
During the pre-offer period, additional shares were acquired under the AMF’s general regulation provisions, increasing Mercure’s stake in Wedia to 70.0%.  
Following the public offer results in November 2024, Mercure held 98.1% of the capital. As a result, the squeeze-out was requested, offer price was increased to €31.75, and Wedia was delisted from Euronext Growth. 
 
Bryan, Garnier & Co advised Cathay Capital & Wedia’s management team throughout the process, including due diligences, valuation and transaction terms, conditions negotiation and the financial structuring of the transaction. 
Bryan, Garnier & Co also acted as the presenting bank and drafted the offer documentation (including valuation report) and coordinated the simplified tender offer procedure with the AMF and Euronext, as well as interacting with the independent appraiser appointed by Wedia.

The Wedia Group is an international player, specialising in B2B SaaS for Digital Asset and Social Media Management. Through its two offerings, Wedia and Iconosquare, the group supports its customers like marketers, communicators, e-merchants and social media managers in the perpetuation, personalisation, distribution and performance measurement of their content such as photos, videos, and social posts.  
 
These offerings enable the group’s customers to simplify the organisation of their marketing content, automate its distribution across different digital and physical channels, and ultimately measure its effectiveness. The group’s high-end, innovative positioning has been validated by prestigious customers such as Decathlon, Universal, Merck and NASA, as well as leading technology analysts such as Gartner, Forrester and Constellation Research.  
 
To serve its 4,000 customers in over 120 countries, the Wedia Group, based in France, Germany and Canada, can count on more than 100 committed employees. The Wedia Group reached sales of almost €14 million in 2023, of which over 80% is SaaS revenue, and is driving its development with a proven mix of controlled organic and external growth. 

Cathay Capital is a private equity and venture capital firm that supports companies in Europe, North America, and Asia. Cathay Capital helps companies at all stages of development, from start-ups to mid-sized companies, to unlock growth opportunities, drive international expansion, and enable sustainable transformation. With its international reach and deep local expertise, its platform connects people – investors, entrepreneurs, management teams, and leading corporations – to share knowledge and resources, fostering the evolution and transformation of businesses. Founded in 2006 with a strong entrepreneurial heritage, Cathay Capital now manages more than 6 billion euros in assets and has completed more than 280 investments in sectors such as healthcare, technology, and consumer goods from its offices in Paris, New York, San Francisco, Munich, Berlin, Madrid, Shanghai, Beijing, and Singapore.