29 January 2020

Acemis x Novencia

Cession

Secteur Consulting & Technology Services

Acemis, a consulting firm specialising in customer experience, is to merge with Novencia, a major consulting and data management firm.

Client Acemis

Acemis was formed in 2000 by Rudi Jakobs and Nicolas Diquéro with the help of the BNP Paribas Développement investment fund, one of its first customers. It addresses all the needs of large companies when it comes to improving customer experience. Acemis assists its customers through a four-step transformation approach: defining their customer experience, operationalising the user experience (UX) through customer care strategies and models, anticipating changes in business lines by improving the employee experience and providing support and training with a view to implementing the transformation. Acemis enables its customers to incorporate the customer experience into the very DNA of their organisations. Its customers include large international groups and mid-market companies in a wide range of industries, together with some public sector organisations. It has around sixty coaches and consultants working at its offices in Paris, Luxembourg and Belgium. Acemis reported revenue of close to €8 million in 2019 and has been delivering top-line growth in excess of 15% a year since 2015.

Contrepartie Novencia

Novencia was formed in 2001 by Arnaud Zilliox. It provides solutions that address the transformation needs of large and mid-market companies and enable them to see through their transformation plans, based on a strong conviction that the businesses of today and the future must have a societal impact on their environment. With operations in Paris, Lyon and Tunis and a workforce of more than 350, Novencia is one of the leading French companies in transformation and data management consulting, reporting revenue of €40 million in 2019.

Acemis’ shareholders mandated PAX Corporate Finance to approach potential industry buyers with a view to finding a strategic acquirer. The goal was two fold: to provide a cash-out opportunity for BNP Paribas Développement, an investor in the company from day one, and to enable Acemis to take on a new dimension by merging with a player that is increasing its market share with large groups. After a competitive bidding process, Novencia stood out as the best candidate.

The firm founded by Arnaud Zilliox was able to convince Acemis’ managers to accept its proposal thanks to the strong complementary fit between the two companies’ offers and customer bases.

The newly-formed entity will continue on the external growth path and is expected to exceed €50 million in revenue from 2020. It will now work to standardise and analyse data in real time to facilitate the successful transformation of its customers.

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Consulting & Technology Services

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