d²X acquires TIMSPIRIT: bringing together IT consulting and major programme management

d²X, the independent consultancy for major programme management

Founded in Lyon in 2009, d²X Expertise built its business on a distinctive position with IT organisations: securing their commitments and making their transformations succeed, with a core business structured around project management — 83% of revenue — service management and the management of major contracts. Founded and led by Bernard de Balmann and Anthony Dubost, the company opened its capital to Bpifrance and Garibaldi Participations at the end of 2021 and, in 2022, completed a first acquisition in Belgium, the consultancy Phinest — the combined group now generating EUR 35m in revenue with more than 250 consultants, international business and consulting each accounting for over a third of activity. Its strategy has been set out in black and white since 2020: the One Stop Shop plan — move up the value chain towards consulting, broaden sector and geographic coverage, and cover every aspect of transformation management.

TIMSPIRIT, the benchmark consultancy for large-organisation IT departments

Founded in 2007 and based in Paris, TIMSPIRIT supports the IT departments of large public and private organisations in their strategic operations, with an offer structured in four strands: upstream consulting — operational performance, project portfolio, IT department transformation — smart sourcing — supplier selection, vendor and contract management — cloud transformation through to FinOps, and service excellence. What sets it apart is this recognised expertise, which generates EUR 10m of revenue, mainly in France, in a segment — independent consulting to IT departments — where credibility is built one assignment at a time. Continuity lies at the heart of the deal structure: the transaction takes the form of a majority stake acquired by d²X, and the target's two founders, Renaud Brosse and Jérôme Houry, join the group's partners and its executive committee.

What the press said about the deal

The deal was announced on 14 January 2025 in a joint press release published in the press room of Bpifrance, an investor in the group. The two reference publications:

Why this IT consultancy acquisition, and why this target

For d²X, the stake was the execution of a published plan: the 2020 One Stop Shop programme set three goals — move up the value chain towards consulting, expand geographically, cover every aspect of transformation — and opening the capital to Bpifrance and Garibaldi Participations at the end of 2021 provided the means, first tested with the Belgian firm Phinest in 2022. TIMSPIRIT is the second step, and the most structuring one: it brings the upstream consulting that downstream programme management lacked, and the Paris presence that Lyon lacked. “TIMSPIRIT is one of the finest independent consulting firms,” said Bernard de Balmann and Anthony Dubost, founders and managers of the group — highlighting the journey made together since spring 2024 and the values shared with the target's founders, decisive factors in the deal according to the press release.

On the target side, TIMSPIRIT had the profile that consolidators in consulting look for first: seventeen years in business, an established brand with the IT departments of large organisations, four offers that match the acquirer's gaps exactly — from upstream consulting to FinOps — and a size, EUR 10m, that transforms the group without unbalancing it. The press release itself names the decisive factors: shared values, the obvious complementarity of the two positions and the alignment of the management teams on a common project. For the target's founders, joining the group answers the equation facing any independent consultancy of this size: the group's commercial and financial maturity and its geographic reach — which they cite publicly — open up markets to their teams that EUR 10m of revenue could not reach alone.

The consolidation of independent IT consultancy in France

This deal illustrates the reshaping of the French IT consulting market: between the integrated giants — IT services firms (ESNs) and large international consultancies — and specialist boutiques, room is opening up for mid-sized independent groups able to serve large organisations without the conflicts of interest of integrators that also sell the services they recommend. The digital transformation of the State and of large companies, cloud migration and the new discipline of cost control — FinOps — are fuelling demand for independent consulting that a fragmented supply struggles to meet: consolidation, often backed by institutional investors, is the natural response.

The deal also tells the story of a French model of backed growth: a Lyon-based group supported since 2021 by Bpifrance and Garibaldi Participations, alongside its long-standing banking partner Banque Populaire AURA, methodically executing a published plan — Belgium in 2022, Paris in 2025 — without sacrificing any of its independence. The combination is domestic and close-knit: Lyon gains Paris, the target's founders become partners in the group, the teams of both firms align on a common project, and the whole — EUR 35m, more than 250 consultants, one third international — gives itself the means to pursue an openly stated European ambition.

Collaboration Capital's added value as buy-side adviser on this assignment

On this deal, Collaboration Capital acted as buy-side adviser — a role documented by name in the press release published by Bpifrance, whose “Intervenants” (advisers) section states that the deal was completed with the firm's assistance. An acquisition between consulting firms plays out in four stages, and the nature of the asset — consultants and relationships of trust — makes each of them particularly sensitive.