CVC DIF has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire a significant majority stake in Celeste

• CVC DIF to acquire a c.88% stake in Celeste, a French B2B digital infrastructure operator, serving more than 20,000 businesses and 3,000 municipalities across France and Switzerland
• CVC DIF will support Celeste in accelerating its development, by expanding its cloud and cybersecurity activities and continuing to strengthen and densify its infrastructure network
• The investment marks CVC DIF’s first investment from its latest Value Add fund, which invests in companies with strong competitive positions, offering significant growth potential, mostly in digital, energy transition, sustainable transport and healthcare sectors

CVC DIF, the infrastructure business of leading global private equity manager CVC, has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire a c.88% stake in Celeste, from Infravia. 

Headquartered near Paris, Celeste is a French B2B digital infrastructure operator. The company was founded in 2001, and provides end-to-end digital infrastructure solutions to companies and public-sector organisations across connectivity, hosting and cloud, and cybersecurity services.

Celeste serves more than 20,000 businesses and 3,000 municipalities in France and Switzerland, relying on a fully owned and operated infrastructure platform comprising 13,600km of proprietary fibre network and six data centers. The company is recognised for the quality and reliability of its services and fully controls its value chain. The actual ownership of the infrastructure assets represents a key competitive advantage in the digital infrastructure market, where Celeste stands out as one of the few fully integrated alternative operators.

CVC DIF, through its DIF Value-Add IV fund, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Celeste. As part of the transaction, Nicolas Aubé, founder and CEO, and the management team will reinvest their proceeds into a significant minority stake, ensuring strong alignment with CVC DIF. Infravia Capital Partners will fully exit its investment following the completion of the transaction.

Following the planned transaction, CVC DIF will support Celeste in accelerating its development, with a particular focus on expanding its cloud and cybersecurity activities while continuing to strengthen and densify its infrastructure network. This investment will enable Celeste to further deploy its integrated, end-to-end offering in a market where demand for fibre connectivity, data usage and cybersecurity solutions is expected to grow significantly over the coming years.

Willem Jansonius, a Managing Partner at CVC DIF and Head of DIF Value-Add strategy, commented: “Our investment in Celeste underlines our expertise and focus on resilient digital infrastructure which provide companies with critical services. Celeste’s solid proprietary network, integrated resilient model and best-in-class quality of services gives the company a highly attractive competitive positioning. We look forward to working closely with Celeste management to support their exciting growth story over the year ahead.” 

Nicolas Aubé, CEO & Founder of Celeste, said: “We look forward to the next chapter of our growth journey with CVC DIF. CVC DIF is a highly experienced infrastructure investor with a deep understanding of the fibre and cloud sectors. Their support will enable Celeste to pursue its expansion, accelerate market consolidation and continue to deliver secured, resilient and high-performance digital infrastructure services to our clients.”

The transaction will require the completion of the information and consultation process with the relevant French employee representative bodies and remains subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions precedent. Completion is expected in Q1 2026.

CVC DIF is advised by Oddo BHF (financial advisor), De Pardieu (legal advisor), 8 Advisory (finance and tax advisor), Phora Capital (commercial advisor), Tactis (technical advisor) and Aon (insurance advisor).