Cathay Capital, Bpifrance, Mérieux Equity Partners and Auriga Partners to enter in exclusive negotiations for the sale of their stake in Amplitude Laser Group to L-GAM

May 4, 2020
Europe

Cathay Capital Private Equity (“Cathay Capital”), along with Mérieux Equity Partners, Bpifrance, and Auriga Partners, announce today that they have entered into exclusive negotiations for the sale of their stake in Amplitude Laser Group, a leading global manufacturer of ultrafast lasers for scientific, medical and industrial applications, to the Luxembourg-based investment company L-GAM.

The official signing of the final documentation will occur after the consultation of the employees’ representatives of Amplitude Laser Group, and the sale will be subject to clearance from the German antitrust authority.

Amplitude Laser Group is today the only international specialist to cover all ultrafast laser technologies and their applications. Amplitude Laser Group provides an expertise that is uniquely global, innovative and reliable, thanks to its close to 350 employees over 3 continents and a diversity of scientific, medical and industrial clients in over 40 countries.

Since Cathay Capital, Bpifrance, Mérieux Equity Partners and Auriga Partners joined in 2012 as majority investors along with the management, Amplitude Laser Group has transformed itself into a global leader with a truly international footprint. With the backing of its shareholders, Amplitude Laser Group successfully expanded abroad through the opening of subsidiaries in Japan, Korea, and more recently in China, as well as in the United States with the acquisition of Continuum Lasers in 2014.

During this period, Amplitude Laser Group also deeply diversified its end markets by pioneering the use of ultrafast lasers in high growth industries such as semiconductor, advanced micromachining and particularly display where it managed to establish a significant partnership with major manufacturers. The undisputed scientific and technical skills of the group also allowed it to be involved in most of the major laser research infrastructure projects, such as the Extreme Light Infrastructure in Europe, initiated by Gérard Mourou, 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics. All these efforts contributed to the strong growth of Amplitude Laser Group, with revenues more than tripling over the period to reach more than 70 million euros by March 2019.

Eric Mottay, CEO of Amplitude Laser Group, said: “With the support of our partners, and the commitment of the team, Amplitude has grown from a laser specialist to a global leader in the field of ultrafast lasers and applications. Our expansion in the US and South Korea, our partnerships with major display and semiconductor manufacturers, as well as the rapid expansion of our China operations leave us in a very strong position for the future. We are excited about upcoming partnership with L-GAM to enter a new development phase for the company

Fabien Wesse, Partner at Cathay Capital, declared: “Over the last 7 years, we have supported Amplitude’s development by facilitating its expansion over three continents through organic growth, diversification and build ups. With our support, the Amplitude team has managed to develop the company tremendously, and it is now ready for a new phase of growth with L-GAM as new shareholder.”

Emmanuelle Gervais, Senior Investment Director at Bpifrance, declared: “We are pleased to have played a significant role in supporting Amplitude’s development. L-GAM as a new shareholder will help the company towards continued expansion and scale.”

Jean-François Billet, Senior Partner at Merieux Equity Partners, declared: “With L-GAM, Amplitude is well positioned to continue its positive development, that we have been happy to successfully support alongside the management during these past years.”

Yves Alexandre and Jerome Bertrand, Partners at L-GAM, concluded: “We are delighted to support Amplitude in its new development phase. We have been particularly impressed by the company positioning as a French technological pioneer in a high growth market driven by the penetration of ultrafast lasers in new applications, and by the team’s vision and dynamism. We are committed to contribute to the international development of Amplitude and the consolidation of its position as the leader and key innovator in the ultrafast market.

This transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and consultations with employee representatives. The closing of the transaction should take place in the summer of 2019.

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About Cathay Capital

Cathay Capital Private Equity is a leading international private equity firm focused on cross-border investment and committed to supporting the international expansion of middle-market companies in North America, China and Europe. The firm’s team of nearly 90 professionals is based in New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, Munich, San Francisco and Tel Aviv and leverages its unique business model and platform to create value for companies across three continents. With €2.5 billion in assets under management, Cathay Capital Private Equity has completed over 98 buyouts and growth capital investments across three continents since its inception in 2007. Cathay Capital Private Equity invests in and assists middle-market companies in the consumer goods and services, healthcare, business services and technology industries.

For more information, please visit www.cathay.fr.

LinkedIn: Cathay Capital Private Equity

About Bpifrance

Bpifrance is the French national investment bank: it finances businesses – at every stage of their development – through loans, guarantees, equity investments and export insurances. Bpifrance also provides extrafinancial services (training, consultancy.). to help entrepreneurs meet their challenges (innovation, export…).

For more information, please visit: www.bpifrance.fr and presse.bpifrance.fr – Follow us on Twitter: @Bpifrance – @BpifrancePresse

About Mérieux Equity Partners

Mérieux Equity Partners is a global investment platform specialized in the healthcare & nutrition sector, working alongside entrepreneurs and companies with ambitious growth plan, offering them privileged access to sector-expertise and industrial network.

For more information, please visit www.merieux-partners.com

About Amplitude Laser Group

Amplitude Laser Group is the global leader in ultrafast lasers for scientific, medical and industrial applications. To its scientific customers, Amplitude offers ultra-high power, PetaWatt class ultrafast lasers for fundamental physics, as well as medical research in the field of radiography and cancer treatment by protontherapy. Amplitude also provides industrial ultrafast lasers for ophthalmology, semi-conductor and microelectronics, medical device manufacturing, among other industrial and medical applications. With a global presence over three continents, a strong culture of customer support, and a decade of experience in the design of ultrafast lasers, Amplitude Laser Group offers unparalleled performance and reliability no matter what the application.

For more information, please visit us www.amplitude-laser.com/

About L-GAM

L-GAM (www.l-gam.com) is a long-term oriented investment company with capital commitments in excess of € 1 billion. L-GAM was established in 2013 with the backing of the Liechtenstein Princely Family and several families from Europe, Asia and the USA. Its unique and differentiated business model is based on a long-term, industrial-like investment focus and a flexible mandate to provide investment solutions throughout the capital structure. L-GAM focuses on partnering with small and medium sized companies across Europe. L-GAM has already invested in Jardiland (France), Faist ChemTec (Germany), Roberto Cavalli (Italy), Grupo BC (Spain), AltéAd (France), Cyber Group Studios (France) and Woolrich (Italy and US).

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Media contacts

For Cathay Capital

Yoann Besse – Citigate Dewe Rogerson

[email protected]

+33 1 53 32 78 89

For Bpifrance

Christophe Menger

[email protected]

+33 1 41 79 95 12

For Mérieux Equity Partners

Jean-François Billet – Senior Partner