Interview with World House Capital

Interview with Thomas Bayart, Founder at World House Capital

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My name is Thomas Bayart, and I am the CEO of World House Capital, an investment bank and alternative asset manager established in 2017—a company I founded. We are headquartered in Lille and have an office in Miami, with plans to expand into the Middle East shortly. Our M&A activity is industry- and size-agnostic, but since last June, we have primarily focused on buy-side mandates, conducting targeted searches for acquisition candidates. Recently, we acquired a firm in Tours, previously known as Synergie Groupe.

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2. How has technology changed the due diligence and transaction management processes in your M&A boutique?"

For me, technology primarily streamlines organizational processes. In any deal, we engage with numerous stakeholders, and technology offers significant organizational efficiency. Moreover, it enhances productivity, as seen with data room solutions that provide a centralized hub for document collection, creating a reliable, productivity-focused reference point.

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3. What specific advantages do you observe with the digitization of transactional processes, particularly in terms of speed and security of operations?

From my perspective, trust is paramount. In an M&A deal, we’re dealing with at least two companies—often unfamiliar with each other—who need to disclose sensitive information, sometimes quite intimately. Building trust is essential to ensure that information shared doesn’t get misused or mishandled, which is especially crucial when sharing documents via email or other channels that may have vulnerabilities.

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4. What technological challenges or security obstacles do you encounter when using these tools, and how do you address them?

A major challenge for me is driving tech adoption among clients. Many entrepreneurs I work with are seasoned professionals who may not be comfortable with digital tools. My goal is to foster a trusting environment, primarily through secure, French-based tech solutions, showing them that they have control through our oversight and personalized guidance on tech usage.

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5. What key strategies do you apply to maximise transaction value, particularly for identifying synergies?

As you mentioned, coming from a tech background, my focus, alongside financial evaluations of deals, is on post-acquisition integration. The objective is to collaborate with the entrepreneur to operationalize the acquisition, evaluating synergies service by service in as granular a manner as possible, ensuring objective evaluation.

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6. What are the main challenges in cross-border transactions, and how do you adapt your strategies?

There are several challenges, beginning with regulatory differences across countries for the same industry. Another challenge is cultural differences between countries, which is critical in cross-border and international deals. We tackle these issues through proactive planning, comprehension, and adaptability. In every international deal, we prioritize cultural integration by understanding how the entrepreneur envisions incorporating the acquired company.

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7. Future Perspectives: What role do you see for AI, big data,in the evolution of the M&A market?

Big data offers substantial productivity gains by enabling us to quickly and precisely access granular details during document analysis within deals. This process relies on historical deal data, which helps us tailor the depth and specificity required to ensure a successful transaction.

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Contact World House Capital at worldhousecapital.com.