Mazarine Group partners with strong investment players

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Jan 31, 2023

The French-based communications and events group with a global footprint, has announced that new shareholders have joined its capital. Mazarine Group is the owner of Numero magazine and fashion agency La mode en images, a reference when it comes to the organisation of fashion shows.

Trail and Vendis Capital, which entered the group's capital ten years ago, have sold their shares. According to a press release published by the group on January 31, the two funds have supported the group's international development in Asia-Pacific and New York. La mode en images recently opened offices in New York and Dubai.

In this operation, the founder and chairman, Paul-Emmanuel Reiffers, who launched his business in rue Mazarine in Paris in 1993, will become the majority shareholder, while three funds, including two strong European investment names, are taking a 38% stake.

LBO Capital is leading the investment. The structure claims 6 billion euros of capital under management with its various branches and has recently invested in MySize Factory. The deal also includes FG Bros, the private holding company of the Frère-Gallienne family, which was created in 2021 following the demerger of the Frère family's property empire after the death of Albert Frère. Based in Brussels, the structure is the co-controlling shareholder of the listed investment group Groupe Bruxelles Lambert. A third shareholder, whose name has not been revealed, has joined the project. The project consists of the deployment of its structures worldwide as well as an acquisition plan over the next five years.

"I am delighted with this new chapter. Our development strategy based on a multi-business model is unique and will enable us to ensure our future growth," says Paul-Emmanuel Reiffers in a press release. Mazarine brings together a large number of personalities and a diversity of talents who cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit. I want to bring all our teams together around the company's project and I am convinced that together we will be able to give the group a new dimension: that of an ever more valuable partner for luxury brands and culture throughout the world."

The Mazarine group struggled with not being able to organise events and welcome the public to cultural sites in 2020, and has since relaunched itself through external growth and by asserting itself in its core businesses. For example, it was the service provider for the highly acclaimed Casablanca show during the last Men's Paris Fashion Week. In 2022, it claims a 40% growth in turnover, compared to 2021, to 182 million euros. Before the Covid crisis, it was announced at 145 million euros. The group is present in Paris, Shanghai, Beijing, New York and, recently, in Dubai.