Sebastien Rubinand
Investment Manager
Get their honest, personalized take on your startup.
Sign in to pitch Sebastien →At a glance
- Full Name
- Sébastien Robinand, Title: Partner - Private Debt, Firm: Cerea Partners, Firm Type: AMF/AIFM-regulated asset manager; private equity, mezzanine and senior debt investor, Investment Stage: Growth, buyout, sponsorless, mezzanine, unitranche and senior debt financing for profitable SMEs/ETIs, Check Size: €5M-€70M for mezzanine/unitranche/senior debt strategies, Target Company Profile: Growing, profitable companies in the food & beverage universe and adjacent value-chain businesses, usually with enterprise value of €20M-€300M for mezzanine/unitranche and €20M-€500M for senior debt, Sector Focus: Food & beverage, agri-food value chain, food ingredients, nutrition, health nutrition, packaging, logistics, hygiene, distribution and related services/industrial suppliers, Geographic Focus: Primarily France and Europe, Location: Paris, France
Background
Sébastien Robinand is a Partner in Cerea Partners’ Private Debt team. Cerea’s own team page states that he joined the firm in 2018 and is part of a platform focused on equity, mezzanine and senior-debt financing for companies in the food & beverage universe.
Before Cerea, Robinand spent seven years in the Structured Finance team at La Banque Postale, working on corporate private debt and leveraged loans. Earlier in his career he had roles in M&A at Sorbonne Finance and credit analysis at Banque Palatine.
His education includes a degree from EMLV - École de Management Léonard de Vinci and study at Linnaeus University School of Business & Economics in Sweden. LinkedIn also lists EMLV for 2004-2009 and shows Paris-area experience.
Cerea Partners was created in 2004 and describes itself as an AMF- and AIFM-regulated asset manager. The firm says it has raised €2.2B across 10 funds and manages three strategies: buyout, mezzanine and senior debt.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Robinand’s work sits in Cerea’s Private Debt platform, which targets food & beverage universe companies through mezzanine, unitranche and senior debt.
- Cerea’s private-debt products are used for corporate development, external growth, buyout transmission, strengthening equity, general needs and investment financing.
- Typical debt investment size is €5M-€70M; enterprise value ranges are generally €20M-€300M for mezzanine and unitranche, and €20M-€500M for senior debt.
- Cerea emphasizes low-dilution financing, quasi-equity, shareholder/management alignment and flexibility, including principal repayment at maturity for unitranche and senior-debt structures.
- In the Obyo transaction, Robinand and Fabrice Vidal described the company as “a reference platform in the distribution of professional hygiene products” with assets to consolidate regional players, and said the sponsorless financing would bring the needed financial resources.
- Cerea’s broader stated ambition is “better nutrition, better production, better living,” applied through investments in the agri-food value chain and adjacent sectors.
Notable Investments
- Obyo Groupe - Professional hygiene-products distributor based in Saint-Nazaire; Cerea invested alongside management and Groupe Sofia in March 2025 through a sponsorless structure combining bond debt and minority equity, with Robinand quoted on the deal.
- Naturacare - European CDMO for dietary supplements; Cerea arranged unitranche financing for Dentressangle’s October 2023 acquisition and a February 2025 follow-on financing for Naturacare’s acquisition of Sochim International.
- WIIO - Logistics hardware/software and robotics integrator; Cerea entered the company in January 2026 through a sponsorless transaction using bond financing and a minority equity stake to support management succession and growth.
- Labelys Group - European self-adhesive labels platform serving cosmetics, industry, food, wine & spirits and web-to-print; 2024 recapitalization brought in Florac, Cerea Partners and Unigrains alongside EMZ and Bpifrance.
- Survision - Vehicle-identification technology company acquired by Capital Export; Cerea provided mezzanine debt, with Sébastien Robinand and Julien Bée named on the mezzanine debt side in the December 2025 transaction coverage.
- MG2MIX - French animal-nutrition premix and minerals company; Cerea Mezzanine IV structured a sponsorless transaction in 2024 to support a management-led capital reorganization.
- Marbour - European leader in private-label microwaveable rice pouches; Cerea joined BNP Paribas Développement and Société Générale Capital Partenaires in a 2024 capital reorganization.
Unlock the full research
Get how to approach them, recent activity, sources, contact links — plus pitch their AI twin for a candid read on your raise.
One-time. Stays unlocked for you.