Stags Participations

Day-to-day investment activity is managed by founding partner Charlotte Lezius-Doncel alongside Directors Grégoire de Castelnau and Ladislas Roche. The firm’s investment committee includes family members Edouard and Marie Louis-Dreyfus, ensuring the family’s direct oversight of capital allocation decisions.

Stags Participations was capitalized with proceeds from the 2007 buyout of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, the maritime branch of the Louis Dreyfus Group. Philippe Louis-Dreyfus and his children acquired 100% of LDA from the wider family group and later carved out a portion of the family patrimony to deploy in private equity through Stags.

Stags relies on the Louis-Dreyfus family’s extensive international network built over 170 years in commodities and shipping, combined with the investment team’s relationships across French and European mid-market intermediaries. Outside France, the firm syndicates with local investors, which broadens access to deals without building in-country offices.

Stags operates as a holding company dedicated to private equity investment by the Louis-Dreyfus family. It is not a single family office managing diversified wealth, nor a traditional fund manager raising external limited partners. All capital is familial and permanent, though the firm maintains a professionalized investment team distinct from the family’s operating businesses.

Stags exclusively makes direct minority equity investments in private companies. The firm does not invest in external private equity funds. It can hold positions for indefinite periods, pursuing buyout, growth equity, secondary, and turnaround opportunities.

Stags targets small and medium-sized enterprises with over €30 million in revenue, a history of growth and profitability, and a strong competitive position. It invests across equity stages including buyout, growth capital, secondaries, and turnarounds — providing capital for organic expansion or bolt-on acquisitions.

For international investments, Stags consistently co-invests alongside local partners through syndications. This allows it to access geography-specific expertise while maintaining its minority-only posture. In France, it invests independently or alongside partners on a deal-by-deal basis.