Sofimac Partners manages a portfolio of investments totaling €70 million, and invests in nearly 10 companies each year. The following companies are examples of those investments.

OPI, which was founded in 2000, develops and markets drugs for the treatment of so-called orphan pathologies. At a very early stage, OPI acquired a distribution company, and Sofimac took part in the first round of financing, i.e. almost at the company’s start-up, and subsequently invested in further rounds.

The appeal of the company’s development approach is that it has products that are already on the market and products at various stages of development, including some that are already used in hospitals under special agreements but have not yet been approved for marketing in France. OPI developed its sales very quickly and they are growing very fast. In 2005, sales amounted to €11 million, and the target for 2006 is €17 to €19 million.

First round: Fonds Croissance Innovation and Sofimac invested in the founding of the company.

The second round included additional investors (Innoveris and CDC-FCJE).

The third round was staged in 2004 with the addition of SPEF, Siparex and Sudinnova, and all existing shareholders took part in the fourth round in 2006.

METabolic EXplorer founded in 1999, is an industrial biotechnology company specializing in reducing the environmental impact of the chemical industry by developing bio-products using renewable raw materials.

The company has know-how and proprietary engineering technology for economically viable strains of bacteria used to produce commodity-based chemical compounds. Its first product, L-Méthionine, has proven the validity of its product strategy, making strong progress both technically and commercially resulting in 2005 sales of €1.4 million.

Sofimac Partners was a founding investor and has taken part in all subsequent financing rounds including the second in 2000 through SPEF and the third round in 2002 with additional investors.

Again in 2005, Sofimac took part in the €5 million round which also included an investment from one of the company’s industrial partners.

The proceeds of this latest round are being used to enable the company to broaden its product range and develop new biological processes.

Sofimac has been an investor in Babymoov since the company was founded in September 1998.

Its initial business involved the marketing in France of imported educational products and games for infants.

Its marketing concept was based on the Tupperware meeting model and Babymoov worked with specialized retailers such as mail order houses. In its first year, Babymoov had sales of FRF 4 million and doubled that number in its second year.

In early 2000, Babymoov decided to develop its own brand of products, which it named Yam Yam, working closely with young mothers on product design and functionality. The move proved successful but the company was faced with a need to consolidate its growth to generate satisfactory margins.

Sofimac Partners therefore made a follow-on investment and the project gathered speed in 2001 with Babymoov posting growth of 70%. Sales totaled €4.5 million in 2002, €6 million in 2003 and €7.7 million in 2004.

Six years ago, Sofimac made an equity investment in the biotechnology companyBiovitis .

Biovitis is based in the Cantal region and uses fermentation techniques to manufacture products used to destroy organic waste (reduction of water treatment plant sludge, pig and cattle liquid manure, etc.), and also sells natural fertilizers for agricultural purposes. Biovitis has several patents.

Currently the company generates sales of around €1.5 million.

Sofimac invested in Abeil the framework of a leveraged buyout in 1998.

Abeil manufactures padded quilts and pillows and sells both low-end (mainly for export) and high-end products.

Abeil has always pursued a strategy based on innovative products with high value added, such as quilts, pillows, and other products made with anti-acarian, anti-bacterial and thermo-regulated fabrics.

Sofimac maintained its investment in the company in 2005 when it staged a secondary buyout, on the strength of its good growth visibility.

Initially, Cartolux was a packaging manufacturer but in recent years has specialized in heat-formed packaging for the medical market.

Sofimac made an equity investment in May 2005 to help finance its significant expansion program that involved the establishment of a subsidiary in China to serve the needs of its clients with Chinese operations and to open up new markets, the introduction of a white room plastic injection unit and the setting up of a company to collect and process plastic for recycling.

This family-owned company has sales of around €9.5 million.