Bryan, Garnier & Co: Twenty Years of Conquest and Development

Over twenty years in existence. In 2016, Bryan, Garnier & Co celebrated not only the success of its independent partnership but the formation of a new transatlantic tech and healthcare banking platform with the US bank JMP to form JMP Bryan Garnier. This specialist European boutique investment bank may be small but they have ambitious plans for the future.

Founded in 1996, the firm is now one of the rare independent European investment banks and still active on the old continent. Over the years, Bryan, Garnier & Co has imposed itself as a leading PanEuropean player, organized around three business activities: Equity Research, Brokerage and Corporate Finance. They bring together just over 150 professionals, of which 30 are managing directors or equivalent.

Sectoral thematic specializations

The bank was formed based on the “Growth investment bank” model (Robertson Stephens, Alex Brown, Cowen…) aiming to support businesses and specialized investors on growth sectors. The choice of fields covered has therefore been dictated by several fundamentals. Firstly, a very strong innovative component, which revolutionizes industrial landscapes and leads to a complexity in understanding the value of companies. Then, by significant and recurring financing needs. And, lastly, by an intensity in mergers and acquisitions. The bank has therefore focused on five specializations: Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT), Healthcare, Smart Industries, Consumer, Brands & Retail and Business Services; the first two being considered as the priority for Bryan, Garnier & Co.

Large-scale operations

The bank is today developing a wide range of business activities in order to be able to support businesses, irrespective of their stage of development. The teams have been among the main fundraisers in Europe for non-listed European growth companies. In recent months, they have supported more than a dozen fundraisings, such as that for Devialet, a company transforming the quality of sound through hi-end speakers and other sound platforms, on a €100 million fundraising, as well as a €30 million equity investment in Spineart, a medical device company focused on orthopaedic surgery, from Gimv. Bryan, Garnier & Co is also today one of the key players in initial public offerings (IPOs) on Euronext and other markets. It thus accumulates nearly two billion euros raised in twentyfour months for innovative companies. Its experience is also unparalleled concerning the introduction of European companies on US markets. The recent successful IPOs on Nasdaq of Celyad and Galapagos illustrate the bank’s total ability to execute large-scale operations. Lastly, Bryan, Garnier & Co stands out in merger and acquisition deals on the European technology sectors. The firm has supported close to thirty deals in 2016 in the TMT segment, including a €22 million capital raising of Canatu, the leading manufacturer of flexible and 3D formable transparent conductive films and touch sensors.

After Europe and Asia, now in the US

Bryan, Garnier & Co is today present in the four corners of the globe with offices in Paris, London, Munich, Geneva, New York and New Delhi, as well as being represented in San Francisco, Tokyo, Singapore, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Brussels and Barcelona. In India, it has been able to expand its capacity through an exclusive partnership with a local bank – O3 Capital –, positioned on the same sectors and established as one of the leaders of the mid-cap market. The goal is to bridge the gap between the country of the Ganges and Europe. The bank continues to grow: the end of 2015 was marked by the integration of Cartagena Capital, one of the major merchant banks specializing in new technologies in Germany and North Europe. 2016 witnessed the creation of a new transatlantic banking platform with the US bank JMP (NYSE: JMP) to form JMP Bryan Garnier. “This alliance propels us one step further. The combined industry insight, execution capabilities and transatlantic reach of JMP Bryan Garnier give us a strategic edge, filling a gap in the marketplace and enabling us to offer investment banking services on an international scale that few firms with our sector-specific focus can match,” explains Greg Revenu, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Bryan, Garnier & Co. With this building block laid in the US, the bank could also strengthen its operations in Northern Europe through an acquisition in the Nordics, over the next three years.

Major Deals in 2016

• Devialet – Private placement – Sole placement agent (€100m)
• Lexsi – Acquired by Orange – Advisor to the sellers
• Talentia – Secondary MBO – Sole advisor to the sellers
• MGI – Sale of the founders’ stake to Konica Minolta – Joint financial advisor to the sellers (€64m)
• Tado – Private placement – Sole financial advisor (€40m)
• Metrologic Group – Acquired by Astorg – Sole advisor to the buyer

More on Bryan Garnier & Co:

Interview with Greg Revenu (Co-founder & Managing Partner, Bryan Garnier & Co)

Interview with Carter Mack (President, JMP Group)

Interview with Nicolas d’Halluin (Partner, Bryan Garnier & Co, US) 

Interview with Falk Müller-Veerse (Partner, Bryan Garnier & Co, Germany)

Interview with Robert Pfeiffer (Managing Director – Media Team, Bryan Garnier & Co)