Selling a Business in Lyon
Lyon is France's second business city — and in the sectors that define its economy, it is not second to anyone. France's pharmaceutical capital. The gastronomic centre of Europe. A critical logistics node at the crossroads of the continent. For founders in these sectors, Lyon's M&A market offers access to both specialist domestic buyers who understand the region and international strategics who increasingly look here first.
The Lyon mid-market M&A landscape in 2026
Lyon's M&A market occupies a distinct position in the French deal landscape. It is not Paris — which means it does not have the same depth of institutional capital or the gravitational pull of France's largest corporates — but it has something arguably more valuable for mid-market founders: a business environment where quality companies are less competed-over, where regional relationships still create competitive advantage, and where a well-positioned business can achieve genuinely exceptional outcomes because the right buyers have been systematically excluded from informal local processes.
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region has one of France's strongest concentrations of industrial and family-owned businesses. Many of these are now approaching generational transition — the founding generation is exiting, and the children either cannot or do not wish to take over. This creates a substantial and consistent supply of quality businesses coming to market, which in turn sustains an active buyer community that understands the regional business culture and can move quickly on well-prepared processes.
Private equity is increasingly active in Lyon. Siparex and other regional funds have established genuine presence and expertise, but Paris-based mid-market funds have also significantly increased their activity in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region as they recognise the quality of businesses available and the relative lack of advisory competition in the lower mid-market. International PE funds have followed, particularly in pharma services, logistics, and business services.
The lower cost base in Lyon relative to Paris is a genuine advantage for businesses in sectors where Paris-equivalent operations would be structurally less profitable. Technology businesses, business services firms, and light industrial operations that operate out of Lyon carry better margins than their Paris equivalents — a structural quality that buyers price appropriately in a market focused on earnings quality.
Key sectors driving Lyon M&A
Lyon's economy is anchored by pharmaceuticals, food, logistics, chemicals, and a growing digital sector — all with distinctive M&A dynamics and active buyer communities. Here is what buyer appetite looks like across each.
Pharmaceuticals, Biotech & Medical Devices
Lyon is France's pharmaceutical capital, not Paris. Sanofi has major operations here, Boiron is headquartered in Lyon, and bioMérieux — one of the world leaders in in-vitro diagnostics — is a Lyon-born global business. The concentration of pharma manufacturing, clinical research, and life sciences services creates consistent M&A activity driven by international strategics — global pharma groups, US and Asian medtech businesses — who see Lyon-based acquisitions as a route into the French and broader European healthcare market. The proximity to clinical research infrastructure at the Hospices Civils de Lyon adds further buyer appeal.
Food Industry & Gastronomy
Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France — a title that carries real commercial weight in M&A. The city and broader region are home to a dense ecosystem of food manufacturers, specialty food distributors, ingredient specialists, and premium food brands. Savencia, Danone's regional operations, and dozens of mid-market food businesses operate here. Acquirers include French food conglomerates, European consumer goods groups, and occasionally US strategics seeking premium French food brands as platforms for international distribution. The Bocuse legacy and the cultural authority of Lyonnais gastronomy create brand premium that is difficult to replicate in other markets.
Logistics, Transport & Supply Chain
Lyon's position at the crossroads of Europe — at the confluence of north-south and east-west road and rail corridors, with strong TGV connectivity and proximity to Geneva and the Alpine crossings — makes it France's most important logistics hub outside Paris. Third-party logistics businesses, freight forwarding operations, supply chain technology firms, and warehousing platforms all benefit from this geography. PE buyers are active consolidators in European logistics, and Lyon-based logistics businesses with solid operating platforms attract consistent interest from both domestic and international acquirers.
Chemicals & Materials
The Lyon-Grenoble corridor hosts a significant concentration of specialty chemicals, advanced materials, and industrial chemistry businesses. Arkema and Solvay have significant operations in the region. Specialty chemical businesses — particularly those serving the pharma, automotive, or electronics supply chain — are consistently attractive targets for both strategic acquirers and PE funds with sector expertise. The technical depth of Lyon's engineering and chemistry talent base is a genuine asset that buyers value in due diligence.
Digital & Technology
Lyon's technology ecosystem is smaller than Paris but growing rapidly, anchored by the strong engineering output of INSA Lyon, EM Lyon, and the Université Claude Bernard. B2B software, industrial IoT, digital health, and enterprise technology businesses are an increasingly active corner of Lyon M&A. The lower cost base relative to Paris — in both employment costs and real estate — gives Lyon tech businesses structurally better margins than Paris equivalents, which is a genuine valuation driver in an era of earnings-quality focus.
Industrial SMEs & Manufacturing
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region has one of France's strongest concentrations of industrial SMEs — precision engineering, plastics and composites, industrial equipment, and specialist manufacturing businesses — many of which are family-owned and approaching generational transition. These businesses are often undervalued in informal processes because their owners lack access to the right buyer community. PE-backed roll-up strategies targeting French industrial SMEs are increasingly active, and cross-border strategics from Germany, Italy, and the US have accelerated their acquisition activity in the region.
Selling a business in Lyon: what you need to know
Lyon transactions operate within the French M&A legal and regulatory framework, but with specific regional characteristics — a stronger family business culture, regional PE relationships, and cross-border buyer dynamics — that require local knowledge as well as national expertise.
CSE Consultation in Lyon Transactions
French law requires mandatory information and consultation with the Comité Social et Économique (CSE) before any sale of a business with 11 or more employees. This applies equally in Lyon as in Paris — there is no regional variation. The consultation process requires the CSE to be provided with detailed information about the transaction, takes a minimum of 15 days and typically runs to four to six weeks in practice, and must be completed before the purchase agreement can be signed. Sellers who factor this into their process timeline from the outset avoid costly delays. In Lyon's industrial and manufacturing sectors, where union representation is often stronger, CSE relationships may require additional attention.
Family Business Succession & Pacte Dutreil
Lyon's strong family business culture — particularly in the food, chemicals, and industrial sectors — means that a significant proportion of mid-market sellers are managing a generational transition rather than a pure financial exit. The Pacte Dutreil succession mechanism is widely used in the region to facilitate intra-family transmission with reduced gift and inheritance tax. Sellers who have a Pacte Dutreil in place need to understand how it interacts with a sale to a third party before beginning a process — some arrangements create restrictions or lock-in periods that must be navigated. Specialist French tax advice is essential.
Regional PE and Buyer Landscape
Lyon has its own mid-market PE ecosystem that is distinct from Paris. Siparex, UI Investissement, and several regional funds are active investors in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes businesses and understand the regional economy in ways that Paris-based generalist funds often do not. For businesses below €10M EBITDA, these regional funds — combined with Lyon-based family offices and regional strategic buyers — often offer better deal terms and faster execution than a process designed around Paris or international capital. The right adviser for a Lyon transaction needs to know both the regional and international buyer communities.
Cross-Border Strategic Buyers
Lyon's proximity to Switzerland, Italy, and Germany — and its position on major European transport corridors — means that cross-border strategic acquirers are a genuinely important buyer category, particularly in logistics, chemicals, and industrial sectors. Swiss industrial groups, German Mittelstand strategic buyers, and Italian industrial conglomerates have all been active acquirers of Lyon-region businesses in recent years. Accessing this cross-border buyer community requires an advisory team with relationships in these markets and the ability to manage a process across multiple languages and legal systems simultaneously.
What Lyon buyers are looking for right now
Lyon buyers — spanning regional PE, Paris-based mid-market funds, cross-border strategics, and family office capital — share a common focus on businesses with genuine operational depth, defensible market positions, and management teams capable of executing a growth plan. The businesses achieving the best outcomes are those positioned clearly within the sectors Lyon is known for internationally.
Sector credibility and customer references
In Lyon's concentrated sectors — pharma, food, logistics — buyers attach significant weight to the quality of your customer relationships. Working with Sanofi, Boiron, or a major European logistics operator as a reference client is a meaningful valuation driver. If you have it, it needs to be front and centre in how you position the business.
Operational independence from the founder
Family business succession is a recurring theme in Lyon M&A. Buyers are acutely aware that many businesses here are founder-dependent, and they price that risk into offers. A business with a second tier of management — operations, finance, commercial — that can demonstrably operate without the founder commands a material premium and faces fewer conditionality demands from buyers.
European platform potential
Lyon's geography — central to France, close to Switzerland, Italy, and Germany — gives businesses here a natural European expansion narrative. Acquirers, particularly international strategics and pan-European PE funds, are not just buying a French business: they are looking for a European platform. Businesses that can articulate why Lyon is the right anchor for European growth find a broader and more competitive buyer universe.
Clean financials and institutional-ready documentation
Many Lyon mid-market businesses have historically operated with limited external audit and informal management accounting. Buyers will require full financial transparency, and businesses that have invested in audited accounts, normalised EBITDA analysis, and working capital documentation before a process will move through due diligence significantly faster — and face fewer post-offer price adjustments.
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We offer an initial confidential consultation at no charge and without obligation. We will give you an honest assessment of what your business is likely worth in the current market, what a sale process would look like given Lyon's specific buyer landscape, and whether the timing is right. We work across the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and understand the regional business environment as well as the national and international buyer community.