Dubbing Brothers, the European leader in premium dubbing of movies and series, welcomes CAPZA and IDI, accompanied by Pechel, to its capital in equal parts, alongside the managers Alexandre and Mathieu Taïeb. The objective of this new operation is to accelerate the group’s international development, especially through external growth, to reinforce its leadership and complete its high value-added multilingual offer.

Founded in 1989, Dubbing Brothers has become the leading independent and fully integrated player in the premium dubbing industry in Europe with over 70 recording and mixing studios in five countries including France, Belgium, Italy, Germany (following the acquisition of Film & Fernseh Synchron in 2019) and the United States. As part of a family transition process, Pechel and IDI initially invested in February 2016 to allow the founder to exit and allow its two sons, Alexandre and Mathieu Taïeb, now at the helm of the group, to increase their stake in the company.

Based in the Paris region, Dubbing Brothers offers dubbing services for cinema, television, and streaming platforms, as well as subtitling, audio description and video lab services. The largest production, distribution and broadcasting companies, including Disney, Netflix, Apple, Warner, and Sony Pictures, have trusted the group for many years. With more than 280 employees, Dubbing Brothers has a turnover of over €70 million, 45% of which is generated internationally.

This transaction allows Pechel and IDI to achieve an investment multiple of 3.9x and an IRR of 30%. Mutual direct contacts led CAPZA to approach the management and to form an equal partnership with IDI, accompanied by Pechel. The latter were keen to continue their support of the company, convinced by the excellent positioning of Dubbing Brothers in a dynamic market, its growth potential, both organic and external, and the high quality of the management team. With the support of its financial partners, Dubbing Brothers aims to become one of the main players in the premium dubbing industry worldwide, and intends to pursue its technological investments to provide its international clients with a high-quality global offer.

Alexandre et Mathieu Taïeb, co-directors of Dubbing Brothers: “We thank Pechel and IDI for their support in the development of the group since 2016. Since then, we have strengthened our leadership position in Europe. We are delighted to continue the adventure alongside CAPZA and thank our current shareholders for their renewed confidence. We are convinced that we have the right partners by our side to support the strong organic growth of the group in Europe and to continue our international development in new areas through external growth.”

Marco de Alfaro, Partner at IDI, and Augustin Harrel-Courtès, Investment Director at IDI: “Since 2016, IDI and Pechel have supported Alexandre and Mathieu in the continued structuring and development of Dubbing Brothers, especially through external growth with the acquisition of the German Film & Fernseh Synchron in 2019. The group has thus become a key player in dubbing in Europe. We are delighted to reinvest alongside CAPZA in this new LBO given the company’s good prospects. This transaction is the seventh announced by IDI since the beginning of the year. This reinvestment is in line with our strategy of supporting our portfolio companies over the long term, as it was the case with our reinvestments in Alkan, Ateliers de France and recently Winncare.”

Benoit Choppin and Maxence Radix, Co-Head France Flex Equity at CAPZA: “We have been seduced by the development project of Dubbing Brothers led by the talented Alexandre and Mathieu Taïeb. We are delighted to join the team and to benefit from the continuity of the support provided by IDI and Pechel. We are convinced that this association will allow Dubbing Brothers to continue its organic growth and to play a key role in the consolidation of the sector, particularly at the international level.”

Philippe Renié, Partner at Pechel: “We would like to thank Alexandre and Mathieu Taïeb for having trusted Pechel in 2016 to accompany them in this phase of shareholder transition, which allowed them to retain family control of the company. Alongside IDI, we are happy to have been supporting Dubbing Brothers since 2016 in a major step of its international development, and we are proud to continue supporting its development.”

This is the 8th transaction of the CAPZA 5 Flex Equity Fund which was launched in September 2020 and reached its hard cap with a record raising of €700m.