Turnover: 319 million EUR (2023)

Country: France

Electro-optics technology company producing systems and equipment mainly for the defense industry

News

The incredible story of Photonis, the nugget that almost went under the US flag in 2021 11/10/2023

  • Company taken over by Luxembourg-based investment fund HLD
  • Two years on, Photonis, which employs a third of its 1,500-strong workforce in France, has renamed itself Exosens.
  • The company is in insolent health, with a highly aggressive growth strategy. It is an ETI that no longer hides its ambitions in the detection and imaging market for the defense and industrial sectors.
  • Sales of over 300 million euros expected by the end of 2023, compared with 217 million last year.
  • In recent years, the group has invested around 30 million euros in its plants at Brive-La-Gaillarde (Corrèze) and Roden in the Netherlands.
  • Nearly 250 new employees have been recruited to bolster the production workforce.

Defense nugget Photonis aims to grow in the civilian sector 25/09/2023

  • Military applications account for 72% of Photonis sales.
  • Photonis is backed by the European investment fund HLD.
  • The company plans to finalize the acquisition of Telops, its fourth deal in less than 24 months.
  • Other acquisitions include Germany's ProxiVision, Belgium's Xenics and Israel's El-Mul.
  • The company, renamed Exosens, is expanding into three other markets with high growth potential: life sciences, industrial control and nuclear power.
  • The aim is to balance sales 50-50 between military and commercial activities.
  • The company employs 1,500 people and aims to double its sales over the next five years.
  • Sales have already doubled since 2021, reaching 300 million euros.
  • Exosens technologies include methane leak detection, infrared detection and neutron detection sensors.

Photonis becomes Exosens and aims to move away from the all-military approach 20/09/2023

  • Photonis was acquired by private equity firm HLD from the Ardian fund in 2021.
  • The defense sector accounts for 70% of the company's business.
  • Photonis has acquired several companies, including Device-Alab, Xenics, Telops, ProxiVision and El-Mul.
  • Cumulative sales of the acquisitions are around €50 million.
  • Exosens, which employs 1,500 people, forecasts sales of around 300 million euros in 2023.
  • The company's sales in 2020 were 150 million euros.