• RSM, the 6th largest global network of audit and consulting firms, performed the financial due diligence for Sewan, a French telecom scale-up, during its acquisition of Ikoula, a specialist in hosting, dedicated servers, and Cloud services.
  • Led by Eric Fougedoire, Corporate Finance partner, the team further strengthened its expertise in supporting companies in the Cloud and Telecom sectors.

 

French telecom scale-up Sewan (700 employees; €150 million in revenue) announces today a new stage in its strategic development. Now a major pan-European player aiming to simplify corporate communications, Sewan continues its growth strategy through the acquisition of Ikoula, a specialist in hosting, dedicated servers, and Cloud services. This acquisition will enable Sewan to strengthen its Cloud expertise and diversify its hosting product offering. By now operating its own data centers, Sewan is positioning itself to have complete control over its Cloud offering in France and Europe. This marks the eighth acquisition by Sewan since its founding in 2007.

Sewan x Ikoula: A Cutting-Edge Cloud Offering

A historic player in dedicated servers, managed services, and Cloud, Ikoula serves over 6,600 clients across 60 countries, with a 2020 revenue of €8 million. Employing around sixty experts based in Boulogne-Billancourt (92) and Reims (51), the hosting provider also operates its own data centers in France, in Reims (51) and Eppes (02), as well as subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Spain. Its Cloud Computing solution, called CloudIKOULAONE, is available across three continents (Asia, the United States, and Europe).

In addition to an expanded client base and further support for its international expansion, this acquisition will allow Sewan to leverage Ikoula's infrastructure, products, and Cloud experts to strengthen its service offering for hosting critical applications and data. This enables Sewan to stay closely aligned with the evolving needs of businesses and deliver on its initial promise of offering the best hosting at the best price.

With unique, fully customizable, and automated solutions such as Cloud Datacenter, Sewan’s hosting offering is already highly efficient and will be further enhanced with the integration of Ikoula's solutions. Sewan is also certified as an HADS (Health Data Hosting Service) provider for the hosting of personal health data.

 

The RSM team consisted of: Eric Fougedoire, Victor Jouanna, Antoine Pierre, Pierre de la Morinerie

 

About Sewan

Founded in 2007 by Alexis de Goriainoff, David Brette, and Christophe Cresp, Sewan is a French telecom scale-up that aims to simplify corporate communications. To do so, Sewan offers three product families focused on Communication, Connectivity, and Data Hosting, all of which can be ordered, billed, and configured through a single platform called Sophia. From small businesses to large corporations, Sewan’s offerings are tailored to meet the needs of a constantly evolving professional world. Now a major pan-European player, Sewan has 700 employees and over one million end users across France, Spain, Belgium, and Germany. The company also has a network of over 1,000 partners and 75,000 clients.

About Ikoula

A pioneer in French Cloud services since 1998, Ikoula operates its own data centers in France, as well as subsidiaries in Spain and the Netherlands. With a strong focus on human relations, Ikoula maintains close relationships with its clients and offers 24/7 expert support to advise and assist them in their activities. Ikoula’s teams are multilingual, addressing the internationalization needs of its clients, who are located in over 60 countries across four continents.

About RSM

RSM is the 6th largest global network of audit, consulting, and accounting firms, present in over 120 countries. The network now comprises more than 48,000 employees and partners.

In France, RSM is a significant player in audit, expertise, and consulting, with offices in major regional economic hubs, including Paris, Lyon-Chambéry-Grenoble, Montpellier-Nîmes, Nantes-Laval, Strasbourg-Colmar, Réunion, and Mayotte. RSM employs over 1,200 professionals across the country and plans to continue expanding regionally. The group has structured its multidisciplinary services around five areas: Audit, Expertise, Consulting, HR-Social/Payroll, and Legal & Tax services.

RSM – Corporate Finance

RSM’s Corporate Finance division supports companies and their executives, investment funds, as well as investors and shareholders, both in France and internationally, to secure and optimize their financial decisions. The division includes 20 professionals in Paris and the regions, including 3 partners. RSM Corporate Finance handles Transaction Services, Complex Financial Valuation & Modeling, Capital Operations, and Restructuring.