“Time to take stock of the progress achieved in recent years. We have now reached our first target of topping the €100m threshold of assets under management. Sofimac Partners and Centre Capital Développement have jointly invested nearly €10m per year in 2006 and 2007 and made more than 35 investments in the small and midsize companies of our regions. During the same period we have added value to our portfolios, since we have made disposals of more than €30m.

The combination between Sofimac Partners and Centre Capital Développement has been a success for our people, our shareholders and the small and midsize companies in our portfolios.

The company that we have built has become a major focal point for raising equity on a regional basis in France. We have also succeeded in maintaining our regional ties – and this close integration with regional players is a component of our identity – but mainly also a balance between this and the professionalism of our people, which is one of the reasons why business leaders call on us rather than the national private equity firms, which are more distant and less closely involved.

However, much still needs to be done. The economic climate in our country and especially its durably sluggish growth, the financial crisis and its probable fallout on the real economy will all have an impact on our business. Small and midsize companies are the key drivers of sustainable growth. There is no other alternative if you want to fuel growth than to give them the resources and the levers needed to grow rapidly, to generate shareholder value and if possible to expand abroad. And these are the areas we are going to focusing on, by further increasing our resources, by strengthening our commitment to work hand-in-hand with business leaders and by developing Sofimac Partners abroad.

We have launched another fund-raising round, with the FCPR Opportunités Régions venture capital fund aimed at distressed companies and the FCPR Technologies et Santé private equity fund targeting the medical technology industry. By 2009, we will also have launched the FCPR Sofimac Croissance 2 venture capital fund and a new fund. We are also strengthening our regional presence. We have expanded our offices in Lyons and opened an office in Italy to track the investments of the Technologies et Santé fund, which is slated to invest in Italy and Switzerland.

These efforts should produce tangible results by 2009-2010, for the benefit of our shareholders and portfolio companies.”

Pascal Voulton, Chairman of the Sofimac Partners Management Board