FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Bertrand Barrier, Anne Toupenay-Schueller and Cyril Deniaud, Jeantet
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1. Market Trends 1.1 Technology M&A Market
ket is driven by French buyers acquiring foreign com- panies. Examples includes Publicis Groupe (listed on Euronext Paris) which announced in March 2025 the acquisition (subject to usual closing conditions) of the US company Lotame, a major player in data and digi- tal identity, as part of its strategy to accelerate growth in AI. Lotame is recognised for its solutions for collect- ing, managing and activating customer data, as well as its digital identity technologies, which enable more precise and personalised advertising campaigns while maintaining data privacy compliance. The French technology sector is doing rather well, with record new funding. Examples include Mistral AI, which raised EUR1.7 billion and reached a valuation of nearly EUR12 billion, and Filigran, a cybersecurity company, which completed a EUR50 million financing round in October this year. Although the acquisition of French companies remains attractive (the overall number having increased by 8% since 2024, with foreign buyers having increased by 7% since 2024), the overall acquisition value has dropped by 19%. In short, private M&A continues to drive overall activity, with investment funds focusing on mid-cap transactions and more extensive due diligence, while mega-deals have become increasingly rare. Market friction stems from a disconnect between seller price expectations and buyer willingness to pay, with buy- ers no longer accepting the high multiples seen in 2020–2021.
In France, the technology M&A market has remained active, with a higher number of deals but an overall lower amount in value compared to 12 months ago, mainly concentrated around artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure. Rising interest rates, economic uncertainty and strict- er financing conditions have made investors more cautious, particularly in growth-stage ventures. How- ever, strategic buyers and private equity funds remain active, focusing on profitable and scalable businesses in sectors such as software as a service (SaaS), fin- tech, cybersecurity, and health tech. To illustrate this trend, in August 2025, the French State announced the acquisition of Atos’ Advanced Computing division, which designs and manufactures high-performance servers and supercomputers. The unit employs over 2,500 staff, mainly in France. It had 2025 revenue of EUR800 million, the enterprise value is EUR410 million, including EUR110 million in earn- out, and closing is expected in early 2026. 1.2 Key Trends The French M&A market has been gradually recover- ing following a challenging 2023 and subdued 2024, though the recovery has not yet gained significant momentum: since the beginning of 2025, M&A trans- actions involving at least one French company have risen by 2% in value, and by 1% in volume. The mar-
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