(Ecofin Agency) - Private equity firm AfricInvest (which manages about €2 billion worth of assets) and the French investment bank Bpifrance have taken a stake in the French public lighting solutions manufacturer Ragni. The amounts committed and the shares acquired by these new shareholders were not disclosed.

The operation aims at "providing the financial and operational resources" necessary to enable the family-owned Ragni group "to achieve its ambitious objectives," says Arnaud Hilaire, investment director at Bpifrance.

With the support of its two new partners, the lighting manufacturer will begin its next phase of expansion in France, its domestic market, but also internationally, more specifically in Africa, a continent in which the group headed by the Ragni brothers (Jean-Christophe and Stéphane) has been operating for nearly 15 years.

"We have been carrying out interesting projects there (Africa, ed) for 15 years. AfricInvest can allow us to establish ourselves more strongly," Jean-Christophe Ragni said.

The group, founded in 1927, hopes to grow from a family business to a mid-sized company in the coming years. "Ragni has built a real base in France and has a real appetite to conquer the international market. The group's model is transposable and should allow it to expand in territories where there is a demand," explains Khaled Ben Jennet of AfricInvest.

Ragni's last operation dates back to 2016 with the acquisition of Novéa Energies, a company specialized in solar lighting and sustainable development.

 Chamberline Moko