From 10 employees upward, an acquisition becomes a structured corporate project: middle management, audited accounts, blended bank financing and in-depth due diligence.
Headcount
10 à 49 salariés
Turnover
2 M€ – 10 M€
Purchase price
300 000 € – 3 M€
Industry, construction, transport, distribution and professional services dominate. Valuations usually run at 4–7× EBITDA. In insolvency, a transfer offer can be accepted at a fraction of that value when it preserves jobs.
Standard structure: acquisition holding, 25–35% equity, 7-year senior debt, Bpifrance guarantee, sometimes convertible notes or a regional fund.
The usual structure combines an acquisition holding, 25–35% equity, 7-year guaranteed senior debt and sometimes vendor financing, repaid by dividends from the target.
Accounting and tax, HR (contracts, agreements, litigation), legal (leases, client and supplier contracts) and, for industry, environmental site audits.
Yes, by filing a transfer offer with the court-appointed administrator before the deadline. The offer states the scope, the jobs retained and the price.