The News

Sofinnova Partners annonces the successful stock market flotations of two portfolio companies

05/10/2005

Esmertec floated on the SWX Swiss Exchange, raising CHF 98 million (€63 million), Vistaprint floated on NASDAQ, raising $ 120 million (€100 million).

Paris, 5 October 2005 – Sofinnova Partners is pleased to announce that two of its portfolio companies in information technology have successfully completed their IPOs, raising a total of €160 million. These stock market flotations validate Sofinnova Partners’ preferred investment model, which consists of financing and actively assisting companies from the very start all the way through expansion to an exit that allows them to remain independent leaders in their markets.

Esmertec, a world leader in Java  embedded software solutions for mobile phones, PDAs, and consumer electronics devices, was floated on the  SWX Swiss Exchange on September 29, raising CHF 98 million (€63 million). Based in Dubendorf, near Zürich, Esmertec currently trades at a market valuation of CHF 290 million (€187 million). The IPO will allow the company to strengthen its worldwide leadership position in its market.

Sofinnova Partners has been an active co-lead investor in Esmertec since early 2002. It has helped the company grow internationally from less than million in revenues in 2001 to more than million for the first half of this year by bringing in top management talent and by identifying and assessing new acquisition opportunities in the US and in Asia. “Esmertec’s management, actively supported by its investors and board members, has managed to acquire five companies in three years, to gain impressive market share, and to achieve profitability while growing at a tremendous rate,” says Jean Schmitt, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners. “Together, we have turned a European technology start-up into a global leader with more than 250 employees and most of its revenues coming from Asia.”

Vistaprint, an international e-printing services company, was floated on NASDAQ on September 30, raising million in a $ 120 million offering. Vistaprint’s share price rose by 27% on the first day of trading, giving the company a market capitalization of $ 600 million. With its US headquarters in Boston, Vistaprint is a world leader in on-line graphic design and printing services. Sofinnova Partners seed-financed the company when it was set up in Paris in 1997. Since then, Sofinnova has been pro-active in developing an internet-only business model, which has proved to be highly successful and profitable, and in helping the company to grow internationally. “When we funded Vistaprint, the company consisted of one American guy with a French colleague in a small, cramped office,” says Olivier Protard, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners. “Few venture capitalists were interested in on-line printing at the time, but we had big ambitions for the company from the start. We believed we could revolutionize the printing industry – and that has turned out to be the case.”

“The successful IPOs of both Esmertec and Vistaprint show that at Sofinnova Partners we make money the hard way – by actively accompanying our portfolio companies over the long term from young technology start-ups to world leaders in their fields,” says Jean-Bernard Schmidt, Managing Partner and Chairman.

For further information, please contact:
Madeleine Resener
Media Relations
Sofinnova Partners
Tel: +33 (0) 6 20 41 39 82
mresener@sofinnova.fr

About Sofinnova Partners
Founded in Paris in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is one of Europe's leading independent venture capital firms. With €900 million under management, Sofinnova Partners invests in start-ups and early-stage companies in information technology and life sciences. Its investment strategy consists of investing early in teams and projects with high potential, most often acting as lead or co-lead investor. Sofinnova Partners also benefits from a long-established relationship with its sister company in San Francisco, Sofinnova Ventures. Sofinnova Partners’ team consists of 10 professionals who bring valuable market insight and technical expertise to portfolio companies.