Vulcain Engineering Group

Vulcain Engineering Group is a leading French engineering consultancy group.

Founded in 1998, Vulcain specialises in the nuclear power, energy, pharmaceuticals and transportation sectors. Its highly qualified engineers provide expertise and specialist knowledge, primarily for large-scale projects, in the design, engineering, procurement, commissioning and construction phases of power plants, railways or energy distribution infrastructure and liquefied gas vessels or installations, as well as in the commissioning of production lines for vaccine producers in the pharmaceutical sector.

Since acquisition, the group’s revenue has increased from €161m in 2019 to €370m, and its workforce expanded to some 4,000 employees.

VALUE CREATION

Equistone has worked closely with the management team to support Vulcain’s transformation into a fully integrated European engineering group and its mission to assist its customers in designing, building, and maintaining infrastructure more sustainably and responsibly.

As part of this, the group has decreased its activities in upstream oil to less than 1% of revenues in favour of pursuing opportunities in renewables, hydrogen, electricity transportation, natural liquefied gas infrastructure, and carbon capture solutions either organically or through selective add-on acquisitions. Its focus on ESG has been recognised, with the group winning a gold medal in the EcoVadis ranking for two years in succession.

Equistone has leveraged its European network to support the expansion of the group’s international footprint and strengthen its presence in key markets, with 20 strategic acquisitions completed across eight countries, including the UK, Benelux, Switzerland and Finland, as well as new territories in Germany, Canada, Denmark, Spain and the Middle East.

THE EXIT

Equistone sold its Fund VI investment in Vulcain Engineering Group to a consortium of investors led by Ardian, in association with Tikehau Capital and EMZ and supported by Bpifrance, Amundi and the Fonds France Nucléaire, managed by Siparex.