Bordeaux River Cruise

Context of the deal

AXIO Capital has arranged the transfer through an MBO of the Bordeaux River Cruise group, a major player in tourism and public river transport in Bordeaux. Under this deal, group chairman Sylvain Rosier has transferred his duties to Franck Delabarre, Chief Executive of the public river transport business.

Sylvain Rosier, a successful multi-entrepreneur, acquired a majority stake in the group in early 2020, alongside Yves Plessis, Aquiti Gestion and Crédit Agricole Aquitaine Expansion, who registered their total exit on that occasion. On the advice of Edmond de Rothschild, Sylvain Rosier chose the offer proposed by AXIO Capital, whose plan builds on the corporate culture that it has successfully developed. AXIO becomes the majority shareholder and is backed by 123IM, in particular via a new fund dedicated to the financing of the Tourism and Leisure sectors. The long-standing banks of the CIC group and LCL complete the funding with a senior bank debt.

Capitalizing on the model put in place and the group’s development prospects, Sylvain Rosier supports this transfer operation with a significant reinvestment and will retain an operational role. Franck Delabarre, Nathalie Feferberg, Chief Executive of the event tourism business and Simon Lacourt, Technical Manager and co-founder of the company all three hold shares of equity in this operation.

This managerial and capital-intensive transfer is thus in line with a process of continuity and development, ensuring both strategic stability and a stronger entrepreneurial dynamic. It illustrates AXIO’s commitment to supporting well-established regional companies aiming to become national leaders, and 123IM’s desire to support the development of Tourism and Leisure businesses in France, more particularly river tourism businesses.