Houlihan Lokey Advises EMZ Partners

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that EMZ Partners (EMZ) has acquired a minority stake in Nexteam, a global French manufacturer of critical components for the aerospace and defence sector, alongside Bpifrance and Amundi, from Tikehau Capital.

Founded in 2013 through the merger of several family businesses, Nexteam has emerged as a major player in the manufacturing of critical components for the aerospace and defence industries.

The group has built cutting-edge expertise around three core manufacturing processes: machining, casting, and sheet metal fabrication. Its ability to produce highly complex parts, combined with its industrial capabilities, positions the group as a strategic supplier to major OEMs such as Safran, Airbus, and ArianeGroup on their most strategic programs. Nexteam has pursued an active M&A strategy since the entry of Tikehau Capital as minority shareholder in 2018 and will continue to focus on a mix of organic and external growth to expand its geographical outreach and strengthen its leadership in its core markets.

Today, Nexteam employs approximately 2,700 people across 21 sites in seven countries.

The founding families and existing institutional shareholders will reinvest a significant portion of their proceeds, reflecting their continued confidence in the business and strong alignment with its future growth ambitions.

Headquartered in Paris and Munich, EMZ is an independent investment firm specializing in supporting midsized companies. Since 1998, the EMZ team has contributed to the financing of more than 170 transmission and growth transactions (buy-and-build strategies, industrial investments, etc.) for a cumulative amount of €6 billion. The EMZ deal team for this transaction was led by Charles Mercier and Pierre-François Gueit.

Houlihan Lokey acted as the buyside financial advisor to EMZ.

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