LYON, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Esker, Bridgepoint and General Atlantic announce the squeeze-out of Esker, effective as of 3 March 2025, following the large success of the friendly public tender offer initiated by Boréal Bidco SAS (the “Offeror”) for the Esker shares, announced in September 2024 (the “Offer”).
Esker and its management thank their shareholders for the trust and constant support shown throughout its successful journey on the stock market. Now private, Esker, alongside its management and employees, is ready to embark on a new chapter of its history. The strategic partnership with Bridgepoint and General Atlantic aims to accelerate Esker’s development and strengthen its position in a rapidly expanding market.
The Offer, announced on 19 September 2024 and cleared by the Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) on 22 November 2024, was opened from 2 December 2024 to 9 January 2025 and allowed the Offeror to hold c. 75% of Esker’s capital and voting rights on 24 January 2025, settlement-delivery date. At the end of the reopened Offer, which took place from 17 to 30 January 2025, the Offeror held, in concert with Boréal Topco, Mr. Jean-Michel Bérard, Mr. Emmanuel Olivier and Mr. Jean-Jacques Bérard, more than 90% of Esker’s capital and voting rights.
Driven by this success, the Offeror requested the implementation of the squeeze-out procedure for Esker shares, in accordance with what had been indicated in the offer document relating to the Offer and with applicable law.
Jean-Michel Bérard, President and Founder of Esker stated: “We thank our shareholders for their trust. This transaction marks a major milestone for Esker. Together with Bridgepoint and General Atlantic, we will build the future of Esker.”
Emmanuel Olivier, Chief Operating Officer of Esker, stated: “This is a key milestone in Esker’s history. With the support of our new shareholders, we are eager to build it with the ambition of always better serving our clients.”
David Nicault, Partner and Head of Technology at Bridgepoint, stated: “Esker has high-quality products and services with great potential. We are fully committed to supporting Esker, its executives, and its employees in a new stage of their development by providing our expertise and financial resources to make it a global leader.”
Vincent-Gaël Baudet, Partner and Head of Bridgepoint Europe in France, stated: “As a result of the complete success of this operation, leveraging the expertise of the Esker and Bridgepoint teams, we will be able to support the acceleration of Esker’s development in a private company context.”
Gabriel Caillaux, Co-President and Head of General Atlantic’s business in EMEA, stated: “Esker occupies a unique position in the market, with a highly applicable software solution and the opportunity to extend its global footprint. We are pleased to reach this milestone and look forward to partnering with Esker to strengthen its leading product offering and achieve further growth in the years ahead.”
ABOUT ESKER
Esker is the global authority in AI-powered business solutions for the Office of the CFO.
Leveraging the latest in automation technologies, Esker’s Source-to-Pay and Order-to-Cash solutions optimize working capital and cashflow, enhance decision-making, and drive better collaboration and human-to-human relationships with customers, suppliers and employees.
Esker operates in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific with global headquarters in Lyon, France, and U.S. headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. The company generated sales of €205.3 million in 2024, more than 2/3 of which outside France.
ABOUT BRIDGEPOINT
Bridgepoint, listed on the London Stock Exchange, is a leading alternative asset manager specializing in private equity, infrastructure and private credit.
With over €67 billion in assets under management and more than 200 investment professionals located in Europe, North America and Asia, Bridgepoint combines global scale with local market knowledge and sector expertise. Bridgepoint invests in companies operating in resilient growth sectors, managed by ambitious teams.
The group has been present in France for over 35 years, where it has one of the largest investment teams and a track record of landmark technology deals, with Cast, Sinari, Brevo, Kyriba, Calypso, eFront and more recently LumApps. Bridgepoint also recently acquired the Property Management business of Nexity, a Euronext-listed company.
ABOUT GENERAL ATLANTIC
General Atlantic is a leading global investor, with more than four and a half decades of experience in providing capital and strategic support to more than 830 companies throughout its history.
Founded in 1980, General Atlantic continues to be the dedicated partner of visionary founders and investors seeking to build dynamic companies and create long-term value. Guided by the belief that entrepreneurs can be incredible agents of transformational change, the company combines a collaborative global approach, sector expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to shareholder and grow innovative companies worldwide. General Atlantic leverages its patient capital, operational expertise and global platform to support a diversified investment platform covering Growth Equity, Credit, Climate and Sustainable Infrastructure strategies.
General Atlantic manages approximately $103 billion in assets, across all strategies, as of December 31, 2024, with more than 900 professionals in 20 countries and five regions. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit www.generalatlantic.com.
