PARIS, 16 JUNE 2026 – Lazard, a global leader in active asset management, and Elaia Partners, an established European venture capital firm, today announced that Lazard has become Elaia's majority shareholder, increasing its stake to 51%. This follows the strategic partnership agreed in 2024, which included an option for Lazard to acquire a majority stake in Elaia in 2026.
Having exercised this option, Lazard's increased shareholding reflects the shared vision of both firms to build a leading technology investment platform in Europe, and the tangible progress made since the partnership was established.
In 2025, supported by Lazard's global distribution teams, Elaia raised a record €250 million across its funds, surpassing €1 billion in assets under management. Over the past three years, and despite challenging market conditions in private equity, Elaia has achieved exits totaling nearly the equivalent of capital deployed across its portfolio — a testament to disciplined management and strong value creation. Recent successes include the exits of Gleamer (acquired by RadNet), The Hotels Network (acquired by Lighthouse), and Mablink Bioscience (acquired by Eli Lilly).
This transaction enables Elaia to become fully integrated into the Lazard group, benefiting from its global distribution network as a key lever to accelerate growth and strengthen international reach. Elaia will remain fully independent in its management and investment decisions, with its strategy, teams, and existing funds unchanged.
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Media Contacts:
Valérie Sicard, 06 72 71 06 70 valerie.voconseil@gmail.com
Paul Caillaud, 06 46 40 36 85 paul.voconseil@gmail.com
Aziz Nayani, +1 212 632 6042 aziz.nayani@lazard.com
Zoe Butt, +44 7586 712 663 zoe.butt@lazard.com
Louisa Mesnard, +33 6 50 88 13 04 lmesnard@elaia.com
About the Lazard Group:
Founded in 1848, Lazard is one of the world's leading financial advisory and asset management firms, with operations in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Lazard provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, restructuring/liability management, geopolitics and other strategic issues, as well as asset management and investment solutions to institutions, corporations, governments, partnerships, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. For more information, please visit www.lazard.com.
Lazard Frères Gestion is the asset management company of the Lazard group in France. It benefits from all the expertise of a major asset management firm backed by a powerful international group to support its clients. For more information, please visit www.lazardfreresgestion.fr.
