Fusion & Acquisition

📈 En novembre 2024, Gilles Clavié, CEO d’Essendi, présente les résultats du groupe avec une hausse de 4% du chiffre d'affaires et de 8% de l'EBITDA, surpassant les marges de 2019. 25,000 collaborateurs ont participé à cette transformation sur 4 ans. En 2023, une souscription exceptionnelle des emprunts obligataires a été observée. Le budget annuel pour les investissements varie entre 200 et 250 millions d'euros. Prochain rendez-vous le 25 novembre pour discuter de l'avenir des 568 actifs du groupe.

🚀 OXCCU, a UK start-up, raised $28 million in Series B funding to enhance production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from carbon waste. Established in 2021 from University of Oxford research, it has secured over $48 million total funding. Utilizing diverse carbon waste and green hydrogen, its OX1 technology aims to meet aviation's carbon neutrality goal by 2050 amid SAF's current 0.7% market share. The SAF market is expected to reach $15.85 billion by 2030.

🏨 Sandaya, a leading European outdoor hospitality group, has acquired a majority stake in Business Village, a seminar and events site near Louan-Villegruis-Fontaine, 2 hours from Paris. This strategic move diversifies Sandaya's leisure tourism focus. Plans include adding 200 cottages to host 400 participants, installing a giant LED screen, a high-performance sound system, flexible meeting rooms, and revamped dining areas. Business Village offers a unique natural setting in Île-de-France for large seminars.

🏢 Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer held its General Assembly on 19 September. For 2024-2025, they reported €768 million in revenue, a 9% increase, and a record operating profit of €74.5 million. Net income rose to €110.1 million. These results reflect a focus on operational performance under Stéphane Valeri. The first quarter of 2025-2026 already shows strong momentum with €244 million in revenue from April to June 2025.

💸 2025 promises to be a pivotal year for hoteliers. According to the "2025 Global Hotel Outlook" report by CBRE, global hotel occupancy remains strong, though Savills notes a decline in average daily rates, especially in budget segments. Rising operational costs further pressure financial agility. Partnering with YouLend, hotels can access flexible revenue-based financing, with a 73% acceptance rate and offers within 72 hours, ensuring adaptability and growth through strategic reinvestment.

🚂 Futurail, founded in 2023 by former Tesla and Argo AI executives, secured €7.5 million in funding co-led by Asterion Ventures (Paris) and Leap435 (Munich). The funding includes €5.5 million in equity, €1 million in public grants from the Grand Est region and the French government, and €1 million in pre-seed conversion. The start-up aims to innovate rail autonomy, reducing CO2 emissions, by integrating its FuturailDriver system into new and existing train fleets across Europe and the USA.

🌱 Nxtfood, founded in 2019 in Hauts-de-France, raised €49 million in 2024 to triple its Vitry-en-Artois site, create jobs, and expand in Europe. This plant-based food startup, specializing in wheat and pea protein alternatives, has over 20 products in all major French retailers and 10,000 dining locations. After tripling its revenue in 2024, it aims to double it again within 12 to 18 months, backed by Creadev, Roquette Ventures, Clay Capital, and IRD Invest.

📈 Expedia Group, on October 2023, announced at EXPLORE Connect: Vacation Rentals, it is expanding the distribution of Abritel through its international brands and B2B network. The event gathered hundreds of partners. The Premium Host program has been enhanced to ensure quality and reliability. New tools for hosts were revealed.

🛠 Airbnb, en mai 2025, dans 260 villes dont Paris, a lancé Airbnb Services, offrant 10 catégories de services: chefs à domicile, traiteurs, photographes, masseurs, soins spa, entraîneurs, coiffeurs, maquilleurs, manucures, disponibles même hors séjour Airbnb via l'application. Avec un budget marketing de 200 millions de dollars prévu pour 2025, Airbnb espère étendre ces services à toutes ses destinations, capitalisant sur la demande croissante de services personnalisés et bien-être.

💻 Giata, a Berlin-based hotel data expert, announced on September 11, 2025, its acquisition of Smartseer, a Frankfurt-based AI startup founded in 2023. Smartseer processes 50 million decisions monthly across ten markets. Giata, with over 20,000 clients in 80 countries and annual growth over 20%, aims to use Smartseer’s AI to offer highly personalized travel experiences. Smartseer will operate independently within Giata, leveraging insights from AI-trained models on two billion traveler journeys.