Paris and Villeurbanne, France – September 1, 2025 – The GRIVEL family today announced the opening of the capital of Ciril GROUP, a leading software publisher, serving, among others, the public sector. Founded, managed, and developed for more than forty years by the GRIVEL family, the company welcomes two top-tier financial partners: Bpifrance and Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (“CETP”).

On the occasion of this strategic transaction, the GRIVEL family wished to provide Ciril GROUP with additional resources to accelerate its growth trajectory, by further strengthening its offerings from a technological and functional standpoint, consolidating its existing markets and exploring new international opportunities. The objective is clear: to build a sovereign European champion backed by predominantly French capital around the GRIVEL family, dedicated to serving the public sector and its territories, while continuing to build on Ciril GROUP’s core values, its strong corporate culture committed to clients and partners, and its constant drive for innovation.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Villeurbanne, Ciril GROUP develops software solutions such as integrated management software packages (ERP) for finance, human resources (HRIS), technical services (CMMS), and public services, as well as geographic information systems (GIS) and secure, sovereign cloud solutions. More than 2,500 customers, including local authorities, public entities and private companies, rely on these robust, modular and interoperable solutions. A key player in the French public sector for cities, inter-municipal communities and regions, Ciril GROUP is gradually expanding its footprint with private customers in France and abroad.

Bpifrance, a long-standing partner of Ciril GROUP and involved in the project from the outset of the family’s reflexions on opening up its capital, brings its legitimacy as a public player and strengthens the company’s sovereign anchoring. Carlyle, a global investment firm with a strong historical presence in Europe, was selected by the GRIVEL family and the Ciril GROUP management team to help build a European software and cloud champion by reinforcing the company’s presence in the French and European public sector, expanding its hosted software offering, and above all by internationalizing its GIS platform while pursuing external growth in strategic sectors.

Amaël GRIVEL, Chairman of Ciril GROUP, said:

« Over the past few decades, thanks to the commitment of our employees and the trust of our customers, we have invested heavily in and transformed Ciril GROUP into a modern and scalable software platform. Our sovereign infrastructures and product portfolio give us a strong and unique positioning, and we see many opportunities to better serve our customers, accelerate the adoption of our hosted software, and make targeted acquisitions.

With Bpifrance’s legitimacy among public stakeholders and across French businesses, combined with Carlyle’s expertise in software and in supporting companies’ international expansion, my family and I reaffirm through this transaction our ambition for the group to continue its growth trajectory in the future for the benefit of all Ciril GROUP stakeholders. »

Rémi GRIVEL, CEO of Ciril GROUP, continued:

« We are ideally positioned to become the undisputed European leader, backed by predominantly French capital around our family and Bpifrance, the leading partner of local authorities in France, in order to best serve the public sector and our regions while building on the values that have driven our success. At the same time, Carlyle will support us in accelerating our international expansion through its global reach and deep knowledge of our industry, helping to establish Ciril GROUP as a European leader. »

Jérôme de Bucy, Investment Director at Bpifrance, added:

« This transaction is fully aligned with Bpifrance’s strategy to support the modernization and digitization of French public services, well embodied by Ciril GROUP’s products and solutions, which are widely recognized by its customers. This transaction illustrates Bpifrance’s commitment to backing sovereign technology leaders. We are delighted to partner with the GRIVEL family to develop Ciril GROUP, which will see the leader in supporting local authorities in France in the areas of finance, HR, public services, technical services, GIS, and sovereign cloud software take a stake in the company. We are convinced that Carlyle will bring sector expertise and international reach, making it a good partner to build this European leader. »

Charles Villet, Managing Director in the Carlyle Europe Technology Partners investment team, concluded:

« Ciril GROUP, a leading software platform, is at the heart of the digital transformation of the public sector. We are proud to have been selected to work alongside the GRIVEL family and Bpifrance to support the management team in its plan to significantly accelerate Ciril GROUP’s growth, particularly through product innovation, international investment, and future external growth operations. Like Carlyle’s other technology investments in France (Lacour, Neverhack, Inpart, Envea, Metrologic, Evernex, etc.) and more broadly across Europe (GBTEC, SER Group, Shopware, CSS, 1E, Phrase, Hack The Box, etc.), Ciril GROUP will benefit from our sector expertise and our ability to support international expansion.”

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to customary regulatory approvals.