A top of screen union

Transcription

1 March 2018 PHENIX GROUPE and CM-CIC Investissement A top of screen union Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale

2 Founded in 2011, in just 6 years, Phenix Group has become the French market leader in city centre urban display advertising. This spectacular growth is underpinned by an ambitious strategy of acquisitions and innovation, as explained to us by founder and CEO Sébastien Romelot. Sébastien Romelot

3 Phenix Groupe and CM-CIC Investissement, a partnership to conquer city centres. How was Phenix Group created? Sébastien Romelot: Having gained experience as both a start-up founder and an investment banker, my entrepreneurial spirit won out in 2011, when I created Storequest. The company offered software allowing retail advertisers to run geo-localised ad campaigns (mobile, SMS, display) centred around a sales outlet. This business relied primarily on collecting map data from display advertising companies. By chance, one of the advertisers Insert which was in difficulty at the time, was looking for a buyer. Convinced that our software solution could enable the network to make a recovery, I got together with certain Insert employees to buy out the company. This is how Phenix Group came into being in So you were positioned in urban display advertising targeting pedestrians from the beginning? S.R.: There was a gap to be filled as this was the only outdoor display advertising segment that had not been pre-empted by one of the big market leaders, which is what we wanted to become by acquiring a number of display advertising networks in the segment. This strategy of building up a nationwide presence led to us acquiring Media Table (café tables) and Stratego (display advertising in pharmacies). At the same time as establishing our geographical coverage, we also focused on innovation with the creation of Phenix Digital, specialised in digital display advertising. In a climate where the internet is draining the majority of media spending, is there still a place for display advertising? S.R.: What counts for an advertiser is the audience. Today, we can reach more than 20 million unique people each week (80% coverage in towns with more than 100,000 inhabitants) with our traditional network and 4.5 million unique people each week in Paris and the surrounding region with our digital network. With urbanisation and the trend of spending more and more time outside, outdoor display advertising is now the only form of media to be growing, with the internet. And there is considerable room for growth in digital display advertising. In the United Kingdom, digital accounts for 50% of display advertising, compared with 10% in France. Despite regulatory constraints, we are achieving growth of 15% a year.

4 And you also create advertising content? S.R.: Mainly for digital display advertising. Our in-house studio, headed by Universal Music s former digital market director, works closely with brands and agencies to exploit formats as best possible and capitalise on convergence with social media. A pedestrian s experience with digital advertising is very similar to the digital experience on Facebook or Instagram using their mobile phone. Why have you formed a partnership with CM-CIC Investissement? S.R.: Between extending our digital network (15 new cities in 2018), developing new technologies and possible acquisitions, our model is capital intensive. In order to keep up this momentum, we decided in 2016 to find an anchor investor. It was also about reassuring the market, particularly within the framework of calls for tenders, about the financing capacity of a company that was just six years old. We chose a well-known investor able to take a long-term view (the advantage of a bank subsidiary as opposed to a private equity fund) and which had a solid understanding of our business sector: CM-CIC Investissement. 27 million of revenues 300 employees 100,000 print display advertising structures and 1,000 digital screens

5 PHENIX GROUPE according to Stéphane Vermot-Desroches, CM-CIC Investissement. Stéphane Vermot-Desroches Head of Phenix Groupe since 2011, Sébastien Romelot is continuing with his strategy of building a leading name in outdoor display advertising targeting pedestrians in city centres. Phenix Group therefore opted to focus on digital technology while also consolidating its position in its historic market. Its priorities are therefore: - to develop a core network of digital screens in Paris and the provinces, - while also transforming its display advertising infrastructure by targeting major cities in order to optimise returns, - and pursuing our expansion in the pharmacy and parapharmacy sector. In order to make these expansion plans concrete and stay ahead in digital advertising, Phenix Group wanted to carry out a fundraising with CM-CIC Investissement, whose investment capacity and reputation help to increase its credibility among its partners. Playing a part in the creation of a new market (digital display advertising in the private sphere) alongside a topquality management team particularly attracted us.

6 FULLY COMMITTED TO YOU Exploring new territories, aiming higher, going farther... At CM-CIC Investissement, we believe in business leaders who are entrepreneurs. We provide long-term support and equity financing to facilitate the projects of over 400 companies with a range of development objectives, as part of genuine partnerships based on mutual trust. TheLINKS.fr - RCS Nantes B Mars Crédits photos: Getty Images - PHÉNIX - PHENIXDIGITAL_EVIAN_MAJESTIC PASSY - INSERT_BALLERINA_OPÉRA GARNIER - STRATEGO_PHARMACIE DE LA CROIX BLEUE. CM-CIC Investissement - Paris 28, avenue de l Opéra Paris Phone: Paris Lyon Nantes Bordeaux Lille Strasbourg Montréal Boston New York Francfort Londres Zurich Genève Read more about our current events on Head offi ce 28 avenue de l Opéra PARIS Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale