Ardian invests in Rivalis, a leading French network supporting executives of small companies

Created in 1994 in Colmar, France, this family business has seen rapid growth, becoming one of the leading supporters of executives of micro-businesses, craftsmen and SMEs in France today. This is thanks to its network of 500 independent advisors and 17,500 users. Rivalis provides business managers with a real-time overview of their company's financial situation (such as turnover, profitability and forecasts) and enables these individuals to measure the impact of their decisions on areas such as budget, recruitment and investment. Rivalis also offers its clients expert advice to help them improve performance of the companies, to perpetuate the activity and to provide long-term support to the manager.

The company has reinforced its offering with the website www.petite-enterprise-net, the first service portal developed to answer questions from business leaders. The portal counts more than 9 million visitors per year. In addition, Rivalis has developed Henrri, a software as a service "freemium plus" assistant, in response to key needs of micro-businesses, craftsmen and SMEs, which include budget, invoices, payments and dashboards.

Lionel Valdan, co-founder of Rivalis, said: “With the arrival of an investor like Ardian, we are equipping ourselves with the vital resources to support our growth ambitions, in particular by strengthening our digital expertise and by introducing a targeted acquisition strategy.”

Damien Valdan, co-founder, added: “This is an important chapter in the Rivalis growth story. Ardian Growth is our leading investor and we believe it is invaluable to join forces with a partner who shares our entrepreneurial approach as well as the values our success was built on: human, digital and innovation.”

Romain Chiudini, Director within the Ardian Growth team, said: “Beyond its solid financial foundations, Rivalis has built a unique offer around a previously unseen business model. The founders’ innovative vision and the strength of its management team was a key factor in our decision to partner with Rivalis to help realize its growth ambitions.”