Seine finance with Fabrice Moyne (BSB'02)
Launched in 2022 by this BSB graduate, Seine Capital invests ethically through secondary transactions
For as long as he can remember, Fabrice Moyne has always been attracted to the world of finance. After growing up in Seine-et-Marne, he joined BSB — then ESC Dijon — in 1999 via the Passerelle Competition.
” I naturally opted for the 100% English-speaking course and for the finance course ”, specifies Fabrice. ” I quickly wanted to do a double degree in the United States and I was able to join the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis/St Paul in the summer of 2001, to follow an MBA in finance. ”
American-style training
The beginning of a long American history since from then on Fabrice will remain in Minnesota for nearly 10 years, digging his furrow in this sector that he was so passionate about. ” One of my first jobs was selling life insurance contracts to individuals: I had to approach people on the phone to get appointments at home and convince them to buy these contracts. I was just paid on commission, but it was particularly formative! ”
Fabrice has a series of experiences: credit analysis for Textron Financial Corporation, before joining the investment bank Manchester Companies, for which he does company valuation and turnaround advice for companies in difficulty (Turnaround), as well as mergers and acquisitions.
” In 2005, I was hired by Jeffrey Associates, which is now Mercer Consulting. My job as a Senior Research Associate was to find successful managers of private equity funds (private equity) — that is to say targeting companies that are not listed on the financial markets. Again, this experience was very formative! ”
But it was between 2007 and 2010 that Fabrice began to make secondary transactions, within an independent investment office managing the University of Minnesota Foundation and the Walker Art Center. ” I really enjoyed this specialty and that influenced the rest of my career. ”, he recalls.
Back in France, in 2011, he became the boss of secondary investments at Mantra Investment Partners, the management company for which he created this entity. ” For a little over 11 years, we raised 3 investment vehicles, worth €80M in 2015, €120M in 2018 and €180M in 2021. That was when I felt the need, while continuing in the same field of activity, to found something specific, which took CSR into account even better. ”
Seine Capital, ethics and ambition
This desire is materialized by the launch of Seine Capital in 2022, with two partners. ” Today there are five of us since we also have two analysts. I am very happy with our team, which is particularly successful. We specialize in small secondary transactions — between €3 and €15M, while most transactions are over €50M. This allows us to be under the radar and to negotiate very attractive rates, without using leverage effects..”
Seine Capital invests globally, even if its preferred areas remain North America and Western Europe. His favorite sectors: health, SAAS (software as a service) and technology. ” We are looking for fairly mature companies with the objective of lifting a vehicle every 3 years. We expect interesting development in the coming years, with the recruitment of new analysts and a COO (Chief Operating Officer). In 10 years, we should be a team of around 30 people. ”
But what mattered most for Fabrice was that his business could be perfectly aligned with his values: ethics, perseverance, team spirit and respect. ” At this stage in my career, it was logical for me to be able to anchor these values even better in my professional activity. Thus, we make it a point of honor for Seine Capital to make no investment in non-renewable energies, in the gambling and betting industries, and in those of alcohol, tobacco or pornography. Likewise, we are very careful not to expose ourselves to companies that abuse their workforce. ”
This is undoubtedly what we call Seine finance!
