France Portmann Loy
Partner, Paris
France Portmann Loy
Partner, Paris
France Portmann Loy is a partner in Cohen & Gresser’s Paris office.
France has more than 20 years of experience in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity, acting for French and international clients. For several years, she has focused on ‘social impact’ companies in a variety of sectors, including decarbonization, life science research and innovation, and regenerative agriculture.
She regularly advises companies and their founders on mergers, acquisitions, and dispositions, as well as venture capital, capital raising, and leveraged buyout transactions. France also assists investors, family offices, and angel investors in connection with their majority and minority investments, including negotiating shareholders’ agreements and providing legal support throughout the investment process.
Prior to joining Cohen & Gresser, France was a partner at Rossi Bordes & Associés, a boutique M&A and litigation law firm, and previously was an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton in its Paris office, and Linklaters in its Paris and London offices. She holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas in litigation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution, and her LL.M. from Bristol University in commercial law.
France speaks French, English, and Italian.
France Portmann Loy is a partner in Cohen & Gresser’s Paris office. France has more than 20 years of experience in corporate law, mergers…
Education
Bristol University (LL.M. in Commercial Law); University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas (Master’s Degree in Litigation, Arbitration, and Alternative Dispute Resolution)
Bar Admissions
Paris
Represented the majority shareholders of Biose Industrie, the French leading CDMO, in a buy-out transaction involving BPI-France and L-GAM, a Luxembourg fund based in London.
Represented INTACT Regenerative, an innovative agriculture start-up company, in its Series A fundraising.
Represented Time2Plug, an electric vehicle charging start-up, in the sale of a minority stake to Total Energies Charging Services.
Represented Otoqi, a mobility company, in the context of its Series A financing.
Cohen & Gresser, a law firm specialized in business law, is pleased to announce that it has advised Otoqi in its new €10 million Series B round of financing from its historical shareholders: Seventure, Aster and Verve Ventures, and from two new investors: Digital Transition Fund from Cdp Venture Capital SGR (CDP VC and Swiss Post Ventures.
Founded in Paris in 2016, Otoqi is a leading provider of vehicle convoying and fleet management services. Three years after its Series A and already present in three European markets (France, Germany, Italy), Otoqi now plans to expand its convoying and fleet management services to six new countries in Europe with the next launches scheduled for early 2025. The aim is to reach 100 million euros in annual sales within four years, and thus strengthen its position as one of the European leaders in the sector.
To support this growth, the historical partners have decided to reinforce their initial investments, alongside new European investors Cdp Venture Capital and Swiss Post Ventures, thus renewing their "trust in Otoqi's ability to continue innovating and creating value in its sector.” (Bruno Rivet, Investment Director, Seventure Partners).
Cohen & Gresser advised Otoqi with a team comprising partner France Portmann Loy and associates Pauline Thuet and Eléonore Messina. Cdp Venture Capital SGR's Digital Transition Fund (CDP VC) was advised by Squair (Olivier Lopez, partner) and the Italian firm QLTLex (Francesco Fiore, Nicola Romano, partners, Lorenzo Scapellato, counsel).
For additional information, please contact parisassistant@cohengresser.com.
France advises on a full range of corporate matters, with expertise in venture capital. She advises her clients — founders of SMEs, ETIs and start-ups, family groups, and family offices — on their growth and transformation operations (growth and venture capital, mergers and acquisitions), as well as on their internal reorganization issues. Her clients are primarily technology and impact companies, which gives her a deep knowledge of these businesses, their way of functioning, their values, and their challenges. She recently advised the majority shareholder family on the sale of control of Biose Industrie to Bpifrance and L-Gam, and advised Intact Regenerative on a major industrial investment.
“My arrival is the outcome of a fruitful meeting with partners who are a perfect match for me, both in terms of the skills we bring to the table and the structure of the firm,” said France. “The firm’s agility and international footprint is key for my clients and the support they need for their projects.”
France’s deep experience strengthens the firm’s ability to support French and international clients in mergers and acquisitions, equity financing, expansion capital, and early-stage deals. For cross-border transactions, the Paris office works closely with the New York, Washington, D.C., and London offices. Most recently, Cohen & Gresser’s Paris team was involved in the sale of La Tribune to CMA CGM and the sale of part of the Atalian group’s activities to CD&R.
France’s background contributes to the collective strength of the Paris team and seamlessly integrates with the experience of other partners in the office: Johannes Jonas, who specializes in transactional work; Muriel Goldberg-Darmon, who specializes in financial markets and financial services, both in advisory and litigation work; Angéline Duffour, who specializes in employment law; and Franck Le Mentec, who specializes in tax law.
“We are delighted to welcome France and her team, with whom we share a similar vision of the legal profession, blending technical expertise, market knowledge, and values. Their arrival fits in perfectly with the firm’s growth strategy and complements the strengths and experience of other members of the Paris team,” said Johannes Jonas, Managing Partner of the Paris office.
About France Portmann Loy
France started her career at Linklaters in 2000 before joining Debevoise & Plimpton in 2005. In 2010, she set up her own firm, FPL Avocats, and joined Rossi Bordes & Associés as a partner in 2018. In January 2024, she became a partner in the Corporate department of Cohen & Gresser, which she joined with two associates.
She holds a Master’s degree in Litigation, Arbitration, and ADR from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas and an LLM in Commercial Law from the University of Bristol. She has been a member of the Paris Bar since 2001.
About the Team
Pauline Thuet holds a Master’s degree in Private Litigation Management from the Université Côte d’Azur and has been a member of the Paris Bar since 2017. She started her career at Rossi Bordes & Associés and joined Cohen & Gresser’s Paris office in January 2024 as a senior associate.
Eleonore Messina graduated in business law from the Universities of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and Paris II Panthéon-Assas, and holds Master’s degrees in business taxation from Inseec and in M&A from Paris Saclay. After gaining experience with firms such as Grant Thornton and Rossi Bordes & Associés, she joined Cohen & Gresser’s Paris office as an associate in January 2024.
Press Coverage
France Portmann-Loy rejoint Cohen & Gresser avec son équipe, La Lettre des Juristes d'Affaires (Feb. 2, 2024)
Cohen & Gresser Adds Venture Capital Team in Paris, Law.com International (Feb. 2, 2024)
Press Contacts
France: Amélie Lerosier, amelie@blue-wall.com, +33 06 63 58 34 62; Juliette Rohmer, juliette@blue-wall.com, + 33 07 60 21 20 34
United States: Angela Turturro-Sabella, aturturro@cohengresser.com, +1 212 957 7600