CLEARWATER

Main activity

Clearwater (formerly Vulcain in France and Belgium) is an independent investment bank advising entrepreneurs, financial investors and industrial groups on mergers and acquisitions, financing, restructuring and capital raising.

The firm has developed strong multi-sector expertise in the mid-cap segment, typically advising on transactions ranging from €20m to €1bn. Clearwater brings together 450 professionals across 13 European countries and benefits from a strategic partnership with US-based KeyBanc for transatlantic transactions.

With more than 150 transactions completed annually by its 20 offices across Europe, Clearwater ranks among the top five European investment banks by mid-cap transaction volume.

In the Aerospace & Defense sector in France and Belgium, Clearwater has notably advised on the following transactions:

– Sell-side advisor: Ametra Group on the sale of its systems integration business Ametra Integration to NSE

– Buy-side advisor: Private Equity Fund on the acquisition of ScioTeq (Barco Defense) in Belgium, a European leader in advanced visualization solutions

– Refinancing: Gardner Aerospace, a leading manufacturer of aerospace mechanical parts and assemblies, on its refinancing

– Buy-side advisor: Private Equity Fund on the acquisition of a majority stake in Jogam, a France-based specialist in precision mechanics

– Buy-side advisor: Private Equity Fund on the acquisition of Visco, a leading French specialist in machining complex mechanical parts

– Refinancing / capital raising: BT2i Group, an aerospace industrial group specializing in mechanical assemblies, on a capital raising

– Buy-side advisor: Mecachrome on the acquisition of Hitim Group, a French producer of high-precision machined aerospace parts

– Sell-side advisor: Spherea, developer of testing solutions for critical electronic systems, on the reorganization of its shareholding structure

– Sell-side advisor: Groupe Duqueine, a leading manufacturer of high-performance composite parts and sub-assemblies, on the reorganization of its capital structure alongside its founder and CEO

– Sell-side advisor: Latecoere on the sale of Latecoere Services, its aerospace engineering services division, to ADF Group

– Buy-side advisor: Private Equity Fund on the acquisition of AD Industrie, a French aeronautical subcontractor

– Sell-side advisor: Areva on the sale of Elta, a French provider of aerospace electronic equipment