On December 3, 2009, Calyon assisted CFAO (previously known as Compagnie Française de l’Afrique Occidentale) in its initial public offering on Euronext Paris. Calyon acted as the transaction’s bookrunner, lead bank and overall coordinator alongside BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs International and Société Générale CIB.

 
The offering opened on November 17 and closed on December 1 and was based on a per-share price of EUR 26, valuing the company at EUR 1.6 billion. This was the largest IPOInitial Public Offering. Initial listing of a portion of a company's capital on the stock market, with or without a capital increase. This is a favoured exit strategy for private equity investors looking to unlock the value of their investment. on the Paris market for the past two years.

CFAO made its offering as part of its development strategy in particular enabling the company to gain access to new means of financing.

Thanks to this mandate, Calyon strengthened its relationship with PPR, CFAO’s parent company. But also which CFAO whose financing with a syndicated loan is supported by Calyon, BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Natixis, HSBC and RBS.

A subsidiary of PPR, CFAO is specialised in automotive and pharmaceutical distribution in Africa.