Livingstone establishes Paris operation as M&A advisers seek greater international scale

Livingstone Partners has entered the French market by adding the established Paris team formerly operating under DDA & Company, expanding the international corporate finance adviser to 15 offices across Europe, the United States and Asia.

The French business is led by Alexandre Odin and Alain Sitbon and has around 15 professionals. The team advises company owners, management teams and investment funds on acquisitions, disposals, leveraged transactions and financing, concentrating mainly on smaller and mid-sized businesses.

The Paris operation has a long history in the French corporate finance market. Odin established the business in 2002, while Sitbon joined in 2017. The French partners subsequently acquired the operation from its former US parent at the end of 2025 before deciding to join Livingstone’s international network. DDA & Company in the United States remains a separate business and is not included in the transaction.

The French team typically completes between 15 and 20 transactions each year, with deal values generally ranging from €10 million to €200 million. Its strongest areas include technology and software, IT services, media and marketing, electronics, business services and specialised industrial businesses.

Recent assignments include the sale of Operis to Total Specific Solutions, part of Canada’s Constellation Software group, and LeHibou’s acquisition of Belgian company Afarax. The advisers have also worked extensively with companies pursuing acquisition-led expansion, including Steliau Technology and software group Graitec.

Adding Paris gives Livingstone more than 155 professionals internationally. The firm says it completes over 85 transactions annually, generally involving values between €25 million and €500 million, with around 60% involving parties in more than one country.

The expansion comes as independent corporate finance advisers face growing pressure to combine strong domestic relationships with international execution capabilities. Private Equity Magazine identified the transaction as part of continuing consolidation in the M&A advisory industry, with clients increasingly considering both the size of an adviser and its ability to manage transactions across different markets.

France fills an important geographical gap in Livingstone’s European coverage. An established Paris operation provides its international clients with direct access to French companies, private equity investors and potential strategic buyers, while French clients gain access to a wider network of investors and acquisition opportunities outside their domestic market.

Odin and Sitbon will continue to manage the French business from its office on Rue d’Anjou in Paris’s 8th arrondissement. The structure allows the existing team to retain its local operation and relationships while drawing on Livingstone’s wider sector expertise and international network.

Rather than building a French office from the beginning, Livingstone is therefore entering the market through an established advisory team with more than two decades of local experience. The move illustrates a wider shift within European M&A advisory, where international reach is becoming increasingly important even for transactions involving privately owned and lower mid-market companies.