Communiqués de presse - 4 July 2023
The investment bank Largillière Finance advised the shareholders of the corporate, financial and extra-financial communications agency Côté Corp. in its sale to PwC France and francophone Africa.
Founded in 2010 by Virginie Treton and Patrick Gautier, Côté Corp. is an expert corporate and (extra)financial communications agency that has been advising and supporting its customers for over 10 years in their communications projects. In 2022, Côté Corp. received the Silver label by Ecovadis for its overall CSR performance, with over 150 projects a year for clients such as Edenred, Safran, Valeo, Pernod Ricard, La Poste, L'Oréal...
In France and francophone Africa, PwC provides consulting, auditing, legal and tax services to organizations of all sizes and in all sectors. With over 6,000 employees, its multidisciplinary teams combine their know-how within an international network of over 328,000 people in 152 countries. PwC France and francophone Africa aims to become the benchmark player in confidence-building and sustainable business transformation, in tune with the global strategy of the PwC network.
This move with one of the leading corporate and financial communications agencies will enable PwC to strengthen and complement the firm's existing Language Services and financial communications activities.
This merger will provide the market with a new, unique service offering, differentiated by the scope of its skills.
Virginie Treton and Patrick Gautier, founding directors of Côté Corp. will continue to develop the business by joining the PwC teams as partners. They are delighted:"From a strategic point of view, this move to PwC opens a new and differentiating perspective. It prefigures an entity with a unique, innovative and sustainable value proposition on the market. But, above all, it is also the opportunity for Côté Corp. to project itself into a new cycle and strengthening its expertise and tailor-made approaches to customer performance. We thank Largillière Finance for their support throughout the process. Their knowledge of the sector allowed us to move forward with confidence with them”
Thomas Bureau, Managing Director Largillière Finance adds:"In the regulated financial communications market, Côté Corp. has developed an innovative approach that has enabled it to win over a demanding clientele. Thanks to our in-depth knowledge of the services sector, and more specifically of communications, we have observed that major consulting firms are seeking to enlarge their scope of activity by acquiring adjacent businesses. We are delighted to have been able to support the completion of this transaction under the best possible conditions for all parties involved".
Parties to the transaction:
| Seller: Côté Corp. |
Patrick Gautier, Virginie Treton |
| Buyer: PwC | Guillaume Lorain, Philippe Kubisa, James Toner |
| M&A sell-side advisor: Largillière Finance |
Thomas Bureau, Thibault Vandevyver |
| Legal sell-side advisor: Jeausserand Audouard | Patrick Loiseau, Juliette Ritouret |
| Legal tax sell-side advisor: Jeausserand Audouard | Loïc Muller |
| Legal buy-side advisor: PwC Avocats | Isabelle de La Groce Crafoord, Delphine Bry-Durousseau, Vanessa Bigdad |
With offices in Paris, Lyon, Nantes, Brussels and Geneva, Largillière Finance is an independent investment bank dedicated to assisting managers and shareholders of small and medium-sized companies with their capital transactions: company sales and acquisitions, financing (capital and/or debt), financial engineering (valuation, etc.) and financial strategy.
