Kartesia supports Bertin Technologies’ expansion through the acquisition of ALPAO with an add-on Unitranche financing

Kartesia, the European specialist provider of capital solutions for small and mid-sized companies, is pleased to announce it has provided an add-on Unitranche facility to support FCDE and Bertin Technologies (“Bertin” or “the Group”) in the acquisition of the France-based company, ALPAO (“the Company”, that will be henceforth known as Bertin ALPAO), a leading and global supplier of Adaptative Optics (“AO”) systems.

Founded in 2008 as a spin-off from CNRS, ALPAO designs, manufactures and distributes a wide range of highly sophisticated AO integrated systems to a portfolio of blue-chip customers mainly operating across various demanding sectors, among which primarily the defense and space industries, but also the vision science, wireless optical communication and microscopy industries. The Company is well-positioned on large and resilient markets internationally which are sustained by favorable growth fundamentals. With a staff of 40 people, ALPAO is an industrial company featured with an exceptional mastering of development and commercialization of best-in-class AO systems with mission-critical roles.

This strategic move allows Bertin to i) accelerate its development on complex high-end systems, ii) to acquire additional technological bricks, iii) to strengthen its portfolio of products and iv) to pursue its ambitious innovation strategy.

Since 2022, Bertin is being backed by FCDE which supports the development and transformation of SMEs with a strong growth potential.
The capital was deployed from Kartesia’ Senior Opportunities funds (KSO I and II). The deal team at Kartesia included Damien Scaillierez, Charles-Henri Clappier, Alexis Midol and Antonin Ramon.

Charles-Henri Clappier, Partner & Head of KSO France and Business Development at Kartesia, commented: “We are delighted to support Bertin Technologies and FCDE in the acquisition of ALPAO. We were really impressed by the specialist and differentiated positioning of ALPAO, which provides high-end AO systems in highly demanding industries. We look forward to continuing working with FCDE and Bertin’s Management team to keep carrying out the Group’s ambitious strategic growth plan.”