Sade, a subsidiary of the NGE group specialising in the water cycle, is acquiring Font TP Martinaud, a family-owned underground networks company based in Larajasse, in the Rhône. The company has 31 employees and generates revenue of €5 million. It retains its site and its operational teams. The transaction strengthens Sade’s presence in the Lyon–Roanne–Saint-Étienne triangle.
Analysis by the experts at Auris Finance, M&A and financial engineering advisory firm.
Founded in 1920, Font TP Martinaud was formed through the combination of TP Martinaud and Font Travaux Publics. Based in the Monts du Lyonnais, it operates across the Rhône, Loire and Isère. The company builds wet and dry utility networks, from drinking water to telecommunications, and works on sanitation, wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations, roadworks, earthworks, demolition and the recycling of excavated material. Its clients include local authorities, private individuals, property managers, businesses and engineering consultancies. Public contracts account for 65% of its activity.
Two century-old companies
Font TP Martinaud was founded two years after Sade, established in 1918. Sade operates in the design, construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of water and energy networks, as well as in civil engineering and underground works, in France and internationally. The transaction brings together a national player in water networks and an SME whose business has been built on a specific territory.
A densification rationale
Font TP Martinaud joins Sade’s Centre-East regional division and complements the Montagny branch in the Loire. Sylvain Camilla, Deputy Managing Director France of Sade, states: “The arrival of Font TP Martinaud within SADE is a great opportunity to strengthen our presence in the western Lyon area.”
In water network businesses, geographical proximity makes it possible to work on dispersed sites, meet the needs of local authorities and ensure the maintenance or renewal of infrastructure. Font TP Martinaud brings Sade its knowledge of local markets. In return, the company will draw on the material and human resources as well as the technical and engineering expertise of Sade and NGE. The focus is less on immediate reorganisation than on the synergies to be built with existing branches.
NGE, a group majority-owned by its teams
The transaction is part of NGE’s external growth strategy in the water cycle. The group generated revenue of €5 billion in 2025 and has 25,000 employees in around twenty countries. 72% of its share capital is held by its founders, management and employees, with the investment fund Montefiore holding 28%.
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