Is the mid-market segment the main driver of value creation?
- Dec 18, 2025
- 4 min read
Private Markets Square – Newsletter - Édition n°2 - Décembre 2025
Editorial — The Quiet Strength of the Mid-Market
In an environment where megadeals are struggling to regain momentum, one conviction stands out: today, sustainable value creation is happening in the mid-market. SMEs and mid-sized companies, often family-owned, regionally anchored, and financially disciplined, provide fertile ground for active strategies—where value creation depends above all on execution.
The available levers are clear: international expansion, digital transformation, operational optimization, buy-and-build strategies, and improved cash-flow visibility.
In this segment, more than 50% of LBO value creation now comes from revenue growth (source: Bain – Global Private Equity Report 2025), and funds have historically delivered average net IRRs of around 16–17%, above other segments (source: Invest Europe — European Mid-Market Private Equity Returns 2024).
The mid-market therefore combines resilience, value creation, and attractive returns.
This edition explores the strategies and players that best embody this conviction.
We wish you a wonderful holiday season,
Market Pulse - European Mid-Market: Value in Granularity
While macroeconomic conditions in Europe remain mixed, the mid-market continues to offer unique characteristics:
Often profitable and less cyclical business models
Moderate capital needs, therefore less dependent on bank leverage
Strong alignment between management and shareholders
Consolidation and international expansion potential
A market of rare depth: 240,000 mid-market companies in Europe - six times more than in the large-cap segment (source: Invest Europe).
The segment’s historical performance confirms it: more stable, more predictable, less sensitive to interest rates, and offering broad sector diversification.
Fund Insights - Strategies at the Heart of the Mid-Market
Infrastructure: A Foundation of Stability in Private Portfolios
In our webinar with Access Capital Partners, one message stood out clearly: infrastructure combines predictability, resilience, and real returns—three qualities that are particularly sought after today.
Key takeaways:
• Stable, indexed revenuesOperational assets (energy, environment, digital, mobility) generate contractual cash flows, often correlated with inflation.
• Low sensitivity to economic cyclesEssential services = reduced volatility and stronger performance during periods of high interest rates.
• Strong structural momentumThe energy transition and digitalization are driving sustained investment demand across Europe.
Private Equity Explained Through a Deal:
When ACON invested in New Era in 2021, it became the first institutional investor in the brand founded in 1920. The objective: structure global growth on the basis of a strong foundation.
How did they do it?
🔹 1. Smart capital structuring:In 2022, a $700m single-asset continuation fund was launched to extend support without an immediate exit. Capital Dynamics co-invested on that occasion.
🔹 2. Massive geographic expansion:+800 retail locations in Asia, Mexico, and Latin America. International expansion driven by ACON’s capital and network.
🔹 3. Product diversification & DTC strategy:New Era no longer sells (only) caps. Apparel, accessories, and a direct-to-consumer channel enhance both margins and customer control.
🔹 4. Unique strategic alignment:MLB, NBA, and NFL entered the capital. More than licenses - committed strategic partners.
🔹 5. Family leadership, long-term stability:The company remains led by Chris Koch, great-grandson of the founder. Far from the stereotype of the destructive fund, ACON acts as a catalyst.
💡 Private equity is not magic. It is about very concrete decisions, made methodically.
Want to learn more about Capital Dynamics’ new mid-market co-investment fund?
Expert View - Private Debt Explained by Michaël Chetrit (Idico)
With growing interest in private debt and increasing questions about associated risks wealth advisors and family offices are asking the same question: how can one navigate the wide range of strategies available?
In a highly educational episode of Private Market Square, Michaël Chetrit (Idico) explains:
The different types of debt structures used to support companies.
How rigorous borrower selection makes the difference advanced due diligence, alignment with local partners, and covenant quality.
Why private debt complements private equity within a wealth allocation strategy.
Inside AirFund — AirFund Becomes a Payment Agent
AirFund announces a strategic partnership with Xpollens, which becomes our Payment Services Provider (PSP).
This partnership enables:
Automated management and payment of commissions between AirFund and its distribution partners (wealth advisors, family offices, private banks).
Less administrative work, more advisory focus: teams spend less time reconciling files and following up, and more time with clients.
Centralized and traceable flows: a single portal to track commissions, invoices, and payments, fund by fund or by distribution channel.
Events & Community — Life Within the AirFund Ecosystem
Past Events
Founders Future | November 19 | Pavillon Elysée Té, Paris
On the occasion of the launch of the Founders Future Convictions Entrepreneurs fund, our partners attended an engaging discussion between entrepreneur and investor on value creation in the AI era, featuring Marc Ménasé, founder of Founders Future, and Hugo Borensztein, Co-founder & CEO of Omi.
Learn more about Founders Future: Discover
Next Gen Patrimoine | November 27 | Paris
AirFund at the heart of evolving allocation practices
AirFund participated in the 2025 edition of Next Gen Patrimoine, a key event for wealth advisors, family offices, and private banks. The event provided an opportunity to discuss industry developments and the growing role of private markets in wealth allocation.
During the roundtable “Private Markets: An Investment Approach for Every Wealth Situation,” AirFund shared its vision on access, education, and supporting wealth professionals in integrating private assets.
Upcoming Events
Each year at the beginning of January, Groupe Ficade organizes a privileged gathering in the heart of Paris for private wealth professionals: the Grand Forum du Patrimoine.
The 8th edition will take place on Monday, January 19, 2026, at the InterContinental Paris-Le Grand. It will welcome 500 participants: wealth advisors, family offices, private bankers, asset managers, insurers, experts, and service providers.
Would you like to meet us during the Forum?Write to us at contact@airfund.io
To stay informed about upcoming editions:
Follow AirFund on LinkedIn and subscribe to Private Markets Square. 👉
Legal Notice
📩 Information reserved for professionals
This is a marketing communication. Fund details are accessible only to wealth management advisors registered with ORIAS and holding the CIF accreditation. Please refer to the AIF prospectus/AIF information document and the key information document before making any final investment decision. AirFund is authorized as a Financial Investment Advisor (CIF), registered with ORIAS under number 24004281, and is a member of ANACOFI, an association approved by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers.
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