This transaction is part of Cegid's strategy to refocus on its core business, while enabling the Assurex solution to join a specialized player with the expertise and resources required to accelerate its growth in the personal insurance market.

Assurex is a solution specializing in the management of personal insurance benefits, covering in particular the management of individual and group annuities, personal protection claims, contract settlement, as well as lump sum benefits and daily allowance management. The solution is recognized by a number of leading players in the French insurance sector.

ADVANT Altana advised Cegid with a multidisciplinary team comprising:

• Bruno Nogueiro, Partner, Arthur Boutemy, Counsel, and Margaux Ripert, Associate, on M&A matters;

• Jean-Guy de Ruffray, Partner, and Clémence Aladjidi, Associate, on IP/IT and Data Protection matters.

Representing a variety of economic sectors (manufacturing, new technologies, and services), the four independent external members of the Advisory Board will bring their experience and vision to ADVANT Altana.

It is composed of:

• Maud Bailly, CEO of Sofitel Legend, Sofitel, MGallery & Emblems
• Hélène Etzi, President, The Walt Disney Company France
• Augustin de Romanet, Honorary Chairman of Aéroports de Paris, Advisor to the Executive Management at Eight Advisory
• Laurent Solly, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Advanced Machine Intelligence

This Advisory Board embodies the firm’s commitment to surrounding itself with dedicated leaders who will help it anticipate change, seize new opportunities, and pursue an ambitious path.

“This Advisory Board embodies our commitment to opening ourselves even further to the business world and its challenges. These leaders will help us anticipate change, seize new opportunities, and continue building a firm that combines legal excellence with a deep understanding of economic realities,” says Valérie Lafarge Sarkozy, partner at ADVANT Altana.

“With this initiative, ADVANT Altana reaffirms its commitment to positioning itself as a strategic and innovative partner for its clients and to continuing the growth momentum it has maintained since its inception,” adds Pierre-Marie Ouchet, partner at ADVANT Altana.

Founded recently, Chimere develops advanced cybersecurity technologies enabling secure and seamless access to applications regardless of infrastructure. Its universal ZTNA approach addresses the growing need for robust security frameworks in an increasingly distributed and hybrid working environment.

This acquisition enables Ekinops to significantly strengthen its cybersecurity offering and accelerate its positioning in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) market. By integrating Chimere’s technology, Ekinops expands its portfolio with next-generation security solutions designed to protect enterprise networks and data.

Ekinops is a global provider of telecom and network solutions, delivering innovative, open, and trusted technologies to communication service providers and enterprises worldwide. The group focuses on delivering high-performance and scalable solutions that support the evolution of modern networks.

This transaction illustrates ADVANT Altana’s ability to advise on strategic acquisitions in the technology and cybersecurity sectors, particularly in complex and fast-evolving environments requiring multidisciplinary legal expertise.

The ADVANT Altana team was led by Laura Morelli (IP/IT) and Bruno Nogueiro (M&A) and included a cross-practice team composed of Claire Borgel (IP/IT), Théodore Sabot (M&A), Mickael d’Allende, Laura Beserman (Employment) and Philippe de Saint Bauzel, Alexandre Thuau-Renaudet (Tax).

Altana is pleased to announce the promotion of Jean-Guy de Ruffray to partner. He joins Pierre Lubet, Frank Valentin and Armand Aviges as partner in the firm's IP/IT practice, which now counts 11 attorneys.

The firm affirms its determination to encourage the professional development of its best associates and to reinforce its expertise in the issues arising from the digital transformation of the economy.

Member of the Paris bar since 2007, Jean-Guy started his career at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP  in Paris, before joining Altana upon its creation in 2009. He holds Master's degrees in contract law from Université de Paris XI and in industrial property from Université de Paris II. In addition to his intellectual property practice, he is very active in matters related to the digitization of companies and personal data protection.

Jean-Guy teaches numerous training in cybersecurity and personal data protection. He also regularly publishes articles on these subjects in professional journals.

The partners of Altana are very pleased to announce the promotion to Counsel of Caroline Diot, Charlotte Hébert-Salomon and Stéphanie Smatt Pinelli.

Altana announces the promotion to Counsel of Caroline Diot (Criminal Business Law), Charlotte Hébert-Salomon (IP/IT) and Stéphanie Smatt Pinelli (Construction Law and Arbitration)

These promotions demonstrate the firm's commitment to cultivating the talent and fostering the professional development of its best associates.

Caroline Diot's practice extends across all domains of criminal  business law,  in both advisory and litigation matters. She also provides numerous trainings on risk prevention and compliance.

Member of the Paris bar since 2008, Caroline holds an advanced post-graduate studies diploma in European Criminal Law and Policy (University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne) and was law clerk to the Prosecutor at the Paris High Court “Tribunal de Grande Instance”. Caroline also audited business intelligence at IHEDN (Institute for Higher National Defence Studies) and then audited the 20th National Specialised Session of the INHESJ (National Institute of Higher Studies in Security and Justice), upon completion of  which she was awarded the title of Expert in Business Protection and Intelligence.

Charlotte Hébert-Salomon specializes in IT and new technologies law, intellectual property and commercial law.

Member of the Paris bar since 2009, Charlotte holds a postgraduate degree in Innovation, Communication and Culture Law – Specialization in Copyright on Digital Works (Paris-XI University) and a Master’s degree in Business Law (Paris-II University).

Stéphanie Smatt Pinelli specializes in Arbitration and business litigation, particularly in the construction and telecommunication sectors. Stéphanie also advises large groups in the management of complex projects and accompanies businesses in their digital transformation.

Member of the Paris bar since 2008, Stéphanie holds a post-graduate certificate of advanced specialised studies in International Commercial Law and Arbitration (University of Versailles Saint-Quentin) and is an ESSEC graduate.

Altana is an independent, Paris-based business law firm of eighty lawyers.  These promotions are in keeping with the founding principle of Altana, the double practice of advice and conflict resolution for businesses.

Gilles Gaillard (Corporate and Insurance), Valérie Lafarge-Sarkozy (Litigation), Frédéric Manin (Competition), Frank Valentin (Intellectual and Digital Property) and their respective teams join Altana, which now has 80 lawyers, including 22 partners.

Altana, which has tripled in size since its creation in 2009, confirms its success and position. The firm reinforces its capacity to treat emblematic and complex matters for a clientele of institutions and international and family groups. It strengthens its already well-recognized expertise and multiplies the strong synergies between its practice areas.

“We have known Altana and its partners for many years. A strong affiliation exists between our teams, personally as much as professionally. Our merger seemed natural to us given our common values and the strong synergies between our practices and our clients”, emphasized Valérie Lafarge-Sarkozy and Frank Valentin.

“Beyond the pleasure that we have in welcoming our new partners and their teams, reasoning as a business, this merger will allow us to expand our capacity to invest in large-scale projects”, add Christophe Lapp and Philippe Goossens, two of Altana’s founding partners.

● Corporate & Insurance ●

Gilles Gaillard, Partner and member of the Paris bar since 1993, has developed over more than twenty years of solid expertise in corporate finance and business law and insurance law, particularly in public and private mergers and acquisitions, capital investment and corporate restructuring for French and international clients, with particularly extensive experience in the finance, insurance, pension funds and life science sectors.

●

Julie Rolet, Counsel, specializes in business law, mergers and acquisitions and stock market law. Member of the Paris bar since 2007, Julie holds a Postgraduate degree (DESS) in Business Law and Taxation (Paris-II University) and a Master’s degree in Business Law (Paris-II University).

● Litigation ●

Valérie Lafarge-Sarkozy, Partner, specializes in business litigation and pre-litigation. Member of the Paris bar since 1985, Valérie advises a French and international clientele made up of insurance companies, banks, industrial groups, accounting firms and auditing firms. More specifically, her areas of expertise are: complex or group litigation, class actions, emerging risks (cyber risks) and the management of the often-related crises, be it shareholder disputes, product liability, or executive and bank liability.

●

Gautier Barat, Associate, specializes in business litigation. Member of the Paris bar since 2011, Gautier holds a Master’s degree in International Business Law and Management (ESSEC Business School), a Diploma in Legal Studies (University of Oxford (United Kingdom)), a Master’s II DJCE in Business Law (Paris-II University) and a Master’s I in Business Law (Paris-II University).

●

Célia Hamouda, Associate, specializes in commercial and stock market litigation and in arbitration. Member of the Paris bar since 2014, Célia holds a Master’s II in Business Law (Paris Dauphine University) and a Master’s I in Business Law (Paris-II University).

● Competition ●

Frédéric Manin, Partner and member of the Paris bar since 1996, specializes in Competition/Anti-trust law, under European and French law, for large French companies and foreign operators active in the aerospace, insurance, air transport, service (computer, financial), energy, health, defense and construction sectors. He has been designated an Expert within the ICN (International Competition Network).

● Intellectual and Digital Property ●

Frank Valentin, Partner and member of the Paris bar since 1998, has developed almost 20 years of experience in Trademark and Copyright crisis litigation, particularly in the internet and motion picture sectors. He also manages patent litigation for important players in the fields of information technology and life sciences. Besides his skills in complex litigation, he has acquired significant expertise in the strategizing of anti-counterfeiting campaigns for IT and software companies. Frank and his team have developed a global Trademark offer, from portfolio management to anti-counterfeiting programs, and he also assists IT companies in the implementation of their data privacy and digital programs.

●

Charlotte Hébert-Salomon, Associate, specializes in IT and New Technologies law, Intellectual Property and Commercial law. Member of the Paris bar since 2009, Charlotte holds a postgraduate degree in Innovation, Communication and Culture Law – Specialization in Copyright on Digital Works (Paris-XI University) and a Master’s degree in Business Law (Paris-II University).

●

Marina Gau, Associate, specializes in Intellectual Property and New Technologies law. Member of the Paris bar since 2013, Marina holds a postgraduate degree in Innovation, Culture and Communication – Specialization in Technological Innovation Law (Paris-XI University), a diploma (ESSEC) and a Master’s degree in Business Law (Paris-I University).

●

Alix Moreau, Jurist, specializes in intellectual property. She is in charge of the management of trademarks portfolios, their protection and their defense.