France Épargne Corporate
LBO financing
France Épargne Corporate connects companies seeking to finance €20m or more with the private debt funds whose ticket size, instruments and sectors match their case. Private debt funds financed 123 buyout transactions in France in 2025 for a total of €5,138m.
LBO financing in figures
- €5.1bn
- invested by private debt funds in buyouts in France in 2025 (123 transactions)
- 3.6x
- average net debt to EBITDA leverage at the fund’s entry (French companies sold from 2019 to 2024)
- 56%
- of the corporate private debt amounts invested in France in 2025 went into unitranche
Transactions
Leveraged transactions
Primary LBO
Senior or unitranche debt for the first buyout of a company by a fund.
Secondary LBO
Refinancing of the existing debt when a new financial shareholder comes in.
OBO
Holding company debt for the sale of part of the founder’s shares to a company the founder controls.
MBO
Financing for the buyout of a company by its management team.
LBO without a private equity fund
Private debt for a buyout led by the managers or by a family shareholder.
Recapitalisation
New debt to fund a distribution to shareholders or the buyout of a minority shareholder.
Market
Leverage, valuation and private debt
| Indicator | At fund entry | At exit |
|---|---|---|
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.6x | 2.7x |
| Valuation multiple (EV / EBITDA) | 8.8x | 12.1x |
Sample: 232 transactions, companies with €20m to €500m of revenue at exit, average holding period of 5.1 years.
| Enterprise value | EV / EBITDA multiple |
|---|---|
| Below €50m | 7.3x |
| Above €500m | 14.3x |
| Debt type | Transactions 2025 | Amounts 2025 | Share of 2025 amounts | Amounts 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unitranche | 106 | €8,362m | 56% | €6,836m |
| Senior debt | 190 | €5,149m | 35% | €3,623m |
| Mezzanine and subordinated debt | 68 | €1,338m | 9% | €1,169m |
A transaction counts in several rows when it combines several types of debt.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
- What leverage do LBO companies carry in France?
- The average net debt leverage of French SMEs and mid-caps sold by a fund between 2019 and 2024 stood at 3.6 times EBITDA at the fund’s entry. It stood at 2.7 times EBITDA at exit.
- How much did private debt funds commit to buyouts in France in 2025?
- Private debt funds committed €5,138m to 123 buyout transactions in France in 2025. Buyouts remain the largest transaction type by number of deals.
- What share of private debt transactions involves a private equity fund?
- 73% of the corporate private debt transactions completed in France in 2025 involved an equity investor. The average for 2020 to 2024 was 64%.
- How long does a fund hold a company?
- The average holding period of the 232 French SMEs and mid-caps sold by a fund between 2019 and 2024 is 5.1 years.
- From what amount can a company request an introduction for an LBO?
- France Épargne Corporate introduces companies whose financing need reaches €20m or more to private debt funds.
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