Bridgepoint to back LumApps as majority investor for its next stage of growth

LumApps, a French startup known for its “intranet superapp” platform for internal communications and workforce applications, has announced that private equity firm Bridgepoint will acquire a majority stake in a $650 million deal. This transaction will see all existing investors, including Goldman Sachs, Eurazeo, Bpifrance, and IRIS, sell their stakes, while LumApps’ founders and senior management retain their roles and shares. The deal, set to close in July 2024, will enable LumApps to scale and make acquisitions. LumApps, used by 5 million people in 700 organizations, integrates with major enterprise productivity tools and has clients like Airbus, Publicis Sapient, and Yahoo. The company plans to focus on developing a generative AI companion and micro-learning capabilities.

• Bridgepoint will support the leading Software-as-a-Service next-generation intranet provider in its next stage of growth, focusing on international expansion, product innovation and accelerating M&A opportunities.
• LumApps is at the forefront of the next-generation intranet market, which is growing at 15% per annum and has a total estimated addressable market of $9 billion as of today*.
• The intranet provider is expanding its presence within the wider employee experience industry through the development of advanced capabilities including video and mobile and innovative new products such as Gen-AI Companion and micro-learning solutions.

Bridgepoint and LumApps have today announced that Bridgepoint Europe VII (“BE VII”), the leading mid-market fund, will make a strategic investment in the next-generation intranet leader in a deal valued at $650m. LumApps’ existing backers Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Eurazeo Growth, Bpifrance, through its Large Venture fund, and IRIS will sell their shareholdings in LumApps to Bridgepoint as part of the transaction. LumApps’ founders and senior management shall remain strongly invested in the company’s equity and business. Financial terms were not disclosed. Closing is expected to occur in July 2024 and is not subject to satisfaction of any conditions precedent.

Headquartered near Lyon, France, LumApps is a cloud-based social intranet for enterprises, enhancing workplace engagement and productivity by making it easier for employees to work, communicate and collaborate.

The Company utilises an AI-powered platform that integrates with enterprise software, such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, and hundreds of other business apps and HR resources, such as Workday, ServiceNow, Zoom, Salesforce, Box and SAP SuccessFactors. Centralised into a single platform, and serving as a digital front door for employees, these apps, data and insights can be accessed through a conversational AI interface.

Today, LumApps has more than five million users and around 700 clients worldwide. The Company is at the forefront of the next-generation intranet market, which is growing at 15% per annum and has a total estimated addressable market of $9 billion as of today.* This growth is driven by a significant shift away from legacy and in-house systems, a need for a single platform to integrate disparate apps and a heightened focus on employee engagement and retention.

LumApps is expanding its presence within the wider employee experience industry, through the development of advanced capabilities including video and mobile and innovative new products such as Gen-AI Companion and micro-learning solutions.
With best-in-class technology and the ability to innovate ahead of the wider market, LumApps is poised to capture a larger market share across the countries it operates in, including the US, Western Europe and Japan.

Bridgepoint will support LumApps in accelerating its expansion internationally, with a focus on the US, while further investing in product development to enhance the employee experience through advanced AI and machine learning technologies, cross-selling new products and continuing M&A activities.

Bridgepoint’s strategic investment in LumApps builds on the firm’s strong track record of backing software companies that serve enterprise customers in expanding markets, with multiple levers to drive growth. Previous investments include Kyriba, Fenergo, Calypso, eFront and Brevo.

The transaction represents the seventh acquisition by BE VII.

Sébastien Ricard, CEO of LumApps, said: 
“This strategic partnership with Bridgepoint represents a logical and significant step in LumApps’ growth trajectory, following our successful Series A, B and C rounds and achieving profitable growth. As we enter this next phase, we are poised to accelerate our growth and innovation across key areas of our business. This includes advancing our leadership in packaged intranet solutions and expanding into the broader employee experience market with AI-powered tools to build the only solution centralising Communications, Collaboration and Learning in the same place. With Bridgepoint as a partner, we are well-equipped to continue to invest in this innovation and shape the future of workplace engagement and collaboration.”

David Nicault, Partner and Nadia Cid, Director, at Bridgepoint, said:
“LumApps is a global category leader with best-in-class products and technology, evidenced by its impressive growth rate which has been double that of the market. With its strong French heritage and established presence in key markets like the US and Japan, LumApps fits perfectly within Bridgepoint’s platform strategy. By leveraging our strong European presence and sector expertise in supporting global growth, we are excited to back LumApps in delivering on its mission to become the leading full employee engagement platform.”

Benoist Grossmann, Senior Managing Partner and Anne-Charlotte Philbert, Managing Director, at Eurazeo said:
“As dedicated members of the LumApps Board of Directors, representing Eurazeo, we are immensely proud to have supported the management team in realizing a shared vision. LumApps has successfully established itself as the global leader in digital employee experience for enterprises. This fruitful collaboration over the past few years exemplifies Eurazeo’s profound expertise in the tech sector. Our capability to identify, invest in, and collaboratively implement strategic plans through various growth stages, as demonstrated with LumApps, underscores our distinctive position in tech, bridging venture capital to growth investment.”

Bridgepoint was advised by Deutsche Bank (M&A Advisor), Latham & Watkins (Legal Advisor), Bain (Commercial), Crosslake (Tech Due Diligence), EY (Financial and Tax Due Diligence), D’Ornano + Co (Growth Due Diligence), ERM (ESG Due Diligence) and Marsh (Insurance Due Diligence).

LumApps was advised by William Blair (M&A Advisor), DLA Piper (M&A Legal Advisor), Squire Patton Boggs (VDD Legal Advisor), Dune (Corporate Legal Advisor), EY-Parthenon (VDD Commercial and Technological Advisor), EY (VDD Financial Advisor).

About LumApps 
LumApps is the only next-generation intranet solution that enables employees to feel connected to their organisation and engaged in their work from anywhere.
By delivering a modern, smart digital headquarters, LumApps is revolutionising employee engagement, productivity and learning at work. LumApps utilises an AI-powered platform to make smart, targeted internal communications more effortless, centralises important HR resources and business apps into a single platform, regardless of the collaboration suite: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.

With more than 5 million users and about 700 clients worldwide, LumApps is recognised as a Leader in 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Intranet Packaged Solutions. LumApps is part of the French Tech 120 program.

About Bridgepoint

Bridgepoint Group plc is a listed international alternative asset manager focused on middle-market companies. With €62 billion of assets under management (when the partnership with ECP completes), the company has nearly 200 investment professionals in Europe, North America and Asia. We combine global scale with local market insight and sector expertise, consistently delivering strong returns through cycles. Bridgepoint invests with four distinct strategies: Mid-cap, Smid-cap, Growth and Credit. 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 deals in the technology space, including efront, Calypso, Kyriba and Brevo. Lumapps will be the fourth investment of Bridgepoint Europe VII in France.