Yole Group opens its capital to Cervinvest Scale
Cervinvest Scale acquires a minority stake alongside founder Jean-Christophe Eloy and the management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Eric Tholin, with the ambition of accelerating the company’s development.
Paris, 14 September 2026 – Cervinvest Capital is pleased to announce that Cervinvest Scale, its fund dedicated to lowermidcap investments, has acquired a minority stake in Yole Group, one of the world’s leading providers of market, technology and value-chain analysis for the semiconductor, photonics and electronics industries. In this primary transaction, Cervinvest Scale invests alongside founder Jean-Christophe Eloy and CEO Eric Tholin, as well as several managers, who retain control of the company, with the shared ambition of accelerating the group’s development. This is Cervinvest Scale’s first investment.
Yole Group: the global reference for semiconductor strategic intelligence
Founded in 1998 by Jean-Christophe Eloy and headquartered in Lyon, Yole Group has become a global reference in market analysis and strategic consulting for the semiconductor, photonics and electronics industries. The group supports manufacturers, financial investors and R&Dfocused organizations in their strategic decisions, through a comprehensive range of market, technology, cost and supply-chain analyses, as well as consulting and reverse-engineering services. Yole Group relies on a team of more than 150 employees worldwide and a unique network of relationships with leading industry players. The company holds a portfolio of bluechip clients, with top-tier references such as Nvidia, Apple, Samsung, ASML and STMicroelectronics.
Maxence Radix and Arthur Milliard, Managing Partner and Partner of Cervinvest ScaleYole Group is a remarkable company: a clear global leader with a unique depth of expertise, positioned at the heart of one of the most strategic sectors of the global economy.
We are proud of the trust that Jean-Christophe Eloy and Eric Tholin have placed in us as we step in to support this new stage of development.
Jean-Christophe Eloy, Founder and Chairman, and Eric Tholin, CEO, Yole GroupFor more than twenty-five years, Yole Group has built its reputation on the excellence of its analyses and its close ties with industry players.
Cervinvest Scale’s investment allows us to bring in a partner who shares our vision and provides the means to accelerate our development, while preserving our independence.
Deal participants
- Management: Jean-Christophe Eloy, Eric Tholin
- Cervinvest Capital: Maxence Radix, Arthur Milliard, Gabriel Bonnassies
Advisors to management
- Financial advisor (M&A): Cambon Partners (Laurent Azout, Jordan Michali, Briac Gisserot)
- Financial advisor (Financing): Cambon Partners (Nicolas Roubeix)
- Lawyers: Delsol Avocats (Emmanuel Kaeppelin, Caroline Da Lage, Joseph Louis)
- Vendor due diligence (Finance): Exelmans (Stéphane Dahan, Océane Lambert, Matthieu Seither)
Advisors to Cervinvest Capital
- Lawyers: VOLT Associés (Emmanuel Vergnaud, Gamliel Senoussi, Julien Humas)
- Due diligence (Finance): Alvarez & Marsal (Frédéric Steiner, Vadym Diablo, Alexis Lamblin, Thomas Porcher)
- Due diligence (Strategy): Indéfi (Julien Berger, Nicolas Vincent, Pierre-Emmanuel Franqueville, Lucas Laurendeau, Rayan Kahouadji)
Financing
- Lenders: BNP Paribas (coordinator), Arkéa, Crédit Lyonnais
- Lawyers: Simmons & Simmons
About Cervinvest Capital
Cervinvest Capital is an independent management company, founded in 2023, licensed by the AMF and based in Paris, specialising in supporting European SMEs and mid-sized companies. The platform deploys two complementary strategies: Scale, dedicated to the European Lower Mid-Cap segment (investments of €15m to €60m, as structured minority investor or as majority investor in consolidation platforms), and Build, dedicated to the Small-Cap segment (investments of €5m to €15m, mainly as majority investor). Cervinvest Capital’s teams have many years of combined experience in private equity and build-up transactions, serving a single model: value creation through the transformation and scaling-up of the companies they support, in full alignment of interests with their management teams and investors.
Source: www.yolegroup.com