In a rapidly expanding indoor entertainment market, Byway Capital is leading a €27M transaction alongside Bpifrance in La Tête dans les Nuages to support the company’s structuring and accelerate its growth. The group, positioned on a premium flow-based leisure model, aims to become a leading European player.
Byway Capital, a European private equity firm specialising in SME growth, announces the completion of a €27M transaction in La Tête dans les Nuages, a long-standing reference player in indoor entertainment in France. Structured as flex equity, combining mezzanine and equity, the transaction is led by Byway Capital, which is injecting over €20M, and associates Bpifrance through its Tourism and Leisure team. Both investors are coming in as minority shareholders alongside founder-CEO Mickaël Aknin, who is reinvesting significantly and retaining control of the group.
An iconic player repositioned on a premium model
Founded in 1992, La Tête dans les Nuages has established itself as a reference in indoor entertainment in France, with a network of over 10 venues offering an immersive experience combining arcade games (1) , virtual reality and interactive attractions. Since its acquisition by Mickaël Aknin in 2014, the company has undergone a profound transformation to become a premium player, combining high-quality experiences, strong innovation capabilities and excellent operational performance. The group has experienced sustained growth in recent years, reaching €35M in revenue in 2025, driven by a steady pace of new site openings and the continuous upgrading of its concept.
(1) Arcade games: interactive video games played on dedicated machines, often in public venues, now modern and designed for multiplayer use, fostering immersive and social experiences.
A new development phase to scale up
For the first time, La Tête dans les Nuages is opening its capital to embark on a pivotal growth phase. The aim is to accelerate the group’s expansion while strengthening its organization, through the broadening of the management team, the recruitment of key profiles and the implementation of a governance structure suited to its ambitions.
In this context, Byway Capital is engaging in close co-construction with the founder-CEO, drawing on its expertise in retail and B2C models as well as its network of operating partners to support the next stages of development, drive new center openings and identify new growth levers, both in France and internationally. The shared ambition is to build a leading European player in the indoor leisure segment, capitalizing on a proven and scalable model.
A strategic positioning at the heart of a fast-growing market
The transaction takes place in a context of strong momentum in the indoor leisure market, which has demonstrated robust growth in recent years and benefits from favorable structural trends driven by the demand for immersive and social experiences. In this environment, La Tête dans les Nuages stands out with a flow-based leisure model, built around strategic locations in city centers and high-traffic shopping centers. This positioning allows the group to attract a natural customer base without relying on significant marketing spend or high rental costs, unlike so-called “destination” models.
Mickaël Aknin, Chairman and CEO of La Tête dans les Nuages, comments: “Since taking over La Tête dans les Nuages in 2014, we have fundamentally transformed the concept and laid the foundations for a solid model. To take the next step, it was essential for us to bring in partners capable of supporting our structuring without compromising our vision. Byway Capital and Bpifrance stood out through their complementarity, their highly operational understanding of our challenges and their ability to commit to a long-term partnership.”
Florent Thomann, Founder of Byway Capital, comments: “The leisure sector is entering a lasting phase of transformation, driven by the rise of immersive experiences. La Tête dans les Nuages is ideally positioned to capture that potential. This partnership allows Byway Capital to complete a meaningful primary deal, in line with its strategy of backing high-potential service SMEs.”
Charles-Henri Boyer, Managing Director at Byway Capital, adds: “We are delighted to support Mickael Aknin in continuing the growth of his group. The challenge now is to move from a high- performing model to a platform capable of scaling significantly, while maintaining the same level of operational excellence. That is the path we will be pursuing together.”
Louis Janneau, Investment Director at Bpifrance, concludes: “We were impressed by the journey the company has made since its founding. La Tête dans les Nuages has built a unique model, perfectly aligned with the new expectations of the indoor leisure market, combining operational expertise, continuous innovation and a precise understanding of site selection. We are pleased to participate in this new phase of structuring and growth alongside the management team and Byway Capital, with the ambition of building a leading player in the sector.”
Teams
Byway Capital: Florent Thomann, Charles-Henri Boyer, Julia Marc, Caroline Ballaloud
Bpifrance: Serge Mesguich, Louis Janneau, Côme Renondin
Legal counsel for Byway Capital: Hogan Lovells (Stéphane Huten, Ali Chegra, Alexander Premont, Alexis Caminel, Thibault Dupont-Nougein)
Legal counsel for Bpifrance: Nova Consulting (Olivier Nett, Julien Imhoff, Maxime Auzias, Paul Machado)
Financial, legal, tax and social due diligence: Interpath (Jack Rupchandani, Vania Mermoud, Sahar Jilal) and WeDD (Constance Guiraud, Arthur Leclerc, Nicolas Lévêque, Fabien Desmazure)
M&A advisor: Scalène Partners (Samuel Assaraf, Simon Eischen, Paul Krotoff)
About Byway Capital
Byway Capital is a long-term investment fund specialising in small & mid-caps, investing tickets of €5M to €50M in SMEs through growth capital and LBO transactions. Backed by an ecosystem of active entrepreneurs, the fund is distinguished by its flexibility and speed of execution in the service of founders and management teams.
About Bpifrance
Bpifrance finances companies at every stage of their development through loans, guarantees and equity. Bpifrance supports them in their innovation and international development projects. Bpifrance also provides export coverage through a broad range of products. Advisory services, training programs, networking and acceleration programs for startups, SMEs and mid-sized companies are also part of the offering available to entrepreneurs. Through Bpifrance and its 50 regional offices, entrepreneurs benefit from a close, single and efficient
point of contact to help them meet their challenges.
More information at: www.bpifrance.fr – https://presse.bpifrance.fr / – – Follow us on LinkedIn and on X (ex-Twitter): @Bpifrance – @BpifrancePresse
About La Tête dans les Nuages
La Tête dans les Nuages is an integrated French group specialising in entertainment and arcade games. It covers the entire value chain through two complementary entities :
– MBA Entertainment, which offers turnkey solutions for indoor arcade centers
– LTDN, which operates more than 10 indoor family entertainment centers combining arcade games, laser tag, virtual reality and other immersive attractions, located primarily in shopping centers and city centers.
Presse Contacts
Byway Capital
Kablé Communication
Catherine Kablé – catherine.kable@kable-communication.com – +33 6 82 25 73 85
llly Benyoussef – illy.benyoussef@kable-communication.com – +33 6 28 09 65 41