Kéa buys minority in M&A advisory firm Neovian Partners

French management consulting firm Kéa has acquired a minority stake in Neovian Partners, a 30-person consultancy firm specialised in due diligence services to clients in the private equity sector.

The acquisition, Kéa’s seventh in the space of two years, is in line with the firm’s ambition to strengthen its capabilities in areas of high demand, and key segments of the boardroom agenda.

“We are convinced that private equity will be key to the future of the French economy, and will increase its relevance to businesses across sectors,” said Kéa co-founder and senior partner Hervé Baculard. “The addition of Neovian Partners significantly builds out our services to private equity funds and financial sponsors.”

Established in 2007 by Patrick Richer, Neovian Partners initially focused on advising technology start-ups with growth strategy and scaling up their organisation. In 2012 the firm hit a turning point, “when private equity funds started asking us to conduct strategic and commercial due diligence on their technology targets and portfolio companies,” said Richer.

Fast forward to today, and Neovian Partners provides due diligence services across the strategy, commercial, human capital and digital domains. “We have carried out more than 400 transaction-related engagements in the past decade with a focus on the mid-market and small cap segments.”

Joining forces with Kéa’s will allow Neovian Partners to invest in its offerings, expand its team, and tap into the wider client network of Kéa. The two consulting firms will also collaborate on projects beyond the deal phase, including on value creation and post-merger integration work.

Neovian Partners will continue to operate under its own brand. Patrick Richer and fellow partners Annick Kervella and Kevin Bailey have become shareholders of Kéa.

Paris-headquartered Kéa has the ambition to become a €100 million consulting group by 2025 with 400+ employees. The bolt-on of Neovian Partners lifts its team to around 300 consultants and staff.