IDI enters a new gear
IDI enters a new gearEARNINGS/SALES RELEASES
After a period of measured restraint, IDI is shifting into a more active phase. Investment activity has picked up sharply, with carefully chosen deals that demonstrate discipline and foresight rather than chasing volume. CDS/S4BT, Intesoft, Forsk, and targeted bolt-ons show that IDI is not deploying capital for the sake of it. This is portfolio engineering with precision, optionality, and the compounding power of a firm that knows when to act and when to wait.
FACT
IDI’s NAV per share rose by +1.95% to €91.57 by the close of H1-2025, bringing the discount to NAV below 20%.
The holding company maintains €200m of core investment capacity, with an additional €35m of undrawn credit lines.
Up to September 2025, IDI completed six transactions: one disposal/reinvestment, two new acquisitions, two bolt-ons, and the opening of a new Ekosport store.
ANALYSIS
Resilience is boring, until it pays
IDI’s NAV per share rose +1.95% to €91.57, hardly spectacular but meaningful in today’s environment. Stability is underrated in private equity. While many peers wrestled with inflated valuations and fading liquidity, IDI kept its portfolio steady and narrowed the discount below 20%, a feat Wendel, GBL, and Eurazeo still struggle with. Behind the number lies valuation gains and tight cost control. Not glamorous, but the kind of boring discipline that fuels compounding.
A new investment cycle…
The real headline is not NAV, it is activity. Six transactions in six months is not hyperactivity, but it is triple the deal flow of last year. The disposal of CDS/S4BT tells the story: a 6.5x multiple and 46% IRR on exit, followed by a minority reinvestment alongside the founder. IDI banked the gains, kept influence in the business, and showed how timing and discipline still beat blind capital deployment.
The majority stake in Intesoft Electronics marks a decisive step. With €60m+ revenue and radar systems powering Eurocontrol, Raytheon, Thales, and Hensoldt, Intesoft sits at the overlap of civil and defence markets. Europe wants defence autonomy, radar is the invisible scaffolding of that ambition. IDI just bought itself into the future of sovereignty.
The bolt-ons at Natural Grass and Freeland show the method at work. These incremental deals strengthen existing champions, add scale, and fatten margins. And then came Forsk, post-H1: a telecom software specialist with a global footprint. It gives IDI a foothold in the telecom infrastructure backbone. This is portfolio engineering, brick by brick.
…Reflected in the numbers
This new cycle of investment shows up clearly in the figures. Investment income more than doubled to €28m, while net income attributable to the group tripled, rising from €5.5m to €15.1m in H1. The numbers confirm that IDI is no longer waiting on the sidelines. The combination of disciplined deal-making, selective bolt-ons, and strategic reinvestments is already showing tangible results.
Capital in command
Excluding idiCo, IDI held €240m of net investment capacity at the end of June 2025, and around €200m by September after the Forsk investment. The group also benefits from €51m of credit lines, €16m of which are drawn, giving it substantial firepower to seize market opportunities. This is particularly striking as the capacity represents more than a quarter of NAV, and over 35% of total market capitalisation. In a world where most peers rush to deploy capital regardless of price, IDI’s optionality is a strategic weapon.
Concluding stance
H1-2025 confirmed that IDI is both patient and active. NAV growth was steady, but the real story lies in tripled investment activity, high-quality deals, and a balance sheet built for optionality. The market is beginning to recognise this, with the discount narrowing, yet meaningful upside remains given IDI’s track record, compounding power, and capacity to act selectively position it to capture value that others miss. In private equity, patience is the ultimate edge and IDI wields it well.
IMPACT
These H1 2025 results are unlikely to materially change our estimates. We maintain a positive recommendation on the stock, which remains an attractive way to access private equity exposure in France.
Groupe IDI activity is divided in two areas: through its subsidiaries, EURIDI and Marco Polo Investissements, Co. is engaged in management buy-out/buy-in and growth capital investments in French small-mid caps valued between Euro7,000,000 and Euro75,000,000 also, through its subsidiary, IDI Mezzanine, is engaged in mezzanine financing. Also Co. is active in the purchase of secondary market portfolio.
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