WeMa brings in Kresk Développement via minority LBO to fuel buy-and-build strategy

What's the deal? WeMa, the largest independent accounting firm in France's Grand Est region, has opened its capital to Kresk Développement, the family office of entrepreneur Didier Tabary, through a minority leveraged buyout. Apera Asset Management is acting as private lender on the deal.

WeMa generates nearly €50M in revenue, employs 430 people across 21 offices, and plans to use the fresh backing to pursue an active buy-and-build strategy — acquiring smaller accounting firms while centralising back-office functions. Kresk Développement manages over €1.5B in consolidated assets and typically invests between €10M and €40M per ticket.

Why now? The French accounting sector is undergoing rapid transformation driven by mandatory electronic invoicing, digitalisation, and AI adoption. WeMa's leadership sees this moment as critical to invest in technology that frees up accountants for higher-value advisory work.

"In a profession undergoing deep change — between digitalisation, electronic invoicing, and AI — it seemed essential to partner with a solid financial backer who fully respects our entrepreneurial values," said Arnaud Bodier, WeMa's president.

What could go wrong? Buy-and-build strategies in professional services carry integration risk. Merging cultures across multiple small firms while simultaneously rolling out AI tools is operationally complex. The minority LBO structure preserves WeMa's independence, but debt-funded consolidation in a changing regulatory environment adds financial pressure.

The signal: Private equity and family office capital is increasingly flowing into traditionally fragmented professional services sectors — accounting, law, consulting — where consolidation and technology adoption create opportunities for platform plays. WeMa's deal mirrors a broader European trend: backing regional market leaders with strong territorial networks to build scale through acquisition, while using AI to boost margins and shift service models from compliance to advisory.

Kresk Développement's involvement also reflects a growing appetite among family offices for hands-on, long-term partnerships with founder-led businesses, rather than purely financial plays. Charles Collin, managing director at Kresk, said the firm had known Bodier for over five years before committing — underscoring the relationship-driven nature of these deals.

Read more: finyear.com