Paris, January 21, 2013 –Truffle Capital, a key European player in private equity, the 1st FCPI (retail funds) manager in terms of performance1 and the 2nd in terms of market share2 , makes an assessment for 2012.
An increase in annual fundraising
Truffle Capital raised €50 million in 2012 through FCPI, which is 25% more than the previous year, a remarkable accomplishment in a rather subdued market. Truffle Capital now has 550 million euros funds under management and advisory.
A successful year for Truffle Capital…
According to the Morningstar rating of more than 360 FCPI as of 30 September 2012, Truffle Capital manages the three best performing FCPI are managed by Truffle Capital 2 *.
The first FCPI launched by Truffle Capital was liquidated in 2012 and returned 114% of the nominal amount net to subscribers (excluding initial tax benefit). All funds created before 2009 had a positive valuation as of 31 December 2012 (ranging from 9% to 161%) 3 *.
The Chausson Finance index shows that Truffle Capital was the most active investor in SME financing in the first half of 2012. In 2012 Truffle Capital made 3 new investments, 22 reinvestments and 6 partial and total exits (excluding Holding Incubatrices).
In 2012, Philippe Pouletty, co-founder and General Partner at Truffle Capital entered the prestigious Stanford University Hall of Fame of Inventors.
… and a lot of interesting news for its portfolio
The year 2012 was also marked by the vigor and significant performance of our portfolio companies. Two new companies were successfully listed: Vexim (ALVXM), a medical device company specializing in minimally invasive treatment of vertebral fractures and Theradiag (ALTER), specializing in theranostics and in vitro diagnostics (combining treatment and diagnostics) to measure the efficiency of biotherapies on autoimmune diseases, cancer and AIDS. Vexim also received the NYSE Alternext 2012 prize for its successful listing and a good performance since then.
2012 also witnessed the sale of PeopleCube, a provider of on-demand workplace management solutions for organizations of all sizes, to the American company Asure Software, a leading provider of workplace management software.
SP3H finished 2nd in the international final of the CleanTech Open Global Ideas Competition at the Seventh Edition of the prestigious CleanTech Open Global Forum in California in November 2012. The SP3H team has developed a miniaturized optical sensor to measure fuel quality, which can reduce CO2 and pollutant emissions, and fuel consumption, and improve engine reliability and performance.
There were significant advances for most of the other portfolio companies in R&D, financial results or strategic partnerships.
Truffle Capital continues its efforts to promote the creation of high potential start-ups
Truffle Capital made the following proposals at a press conference in December 2012:
- The “Super JEI” (Jeune Entreprise Innovante [Young Innovative Company]) Status needs to be strengthened to allow growth and competitiveness and be extended from 8 to 15 years with full exemption from employers’ contributions and capital gains tax;
- At least 5% of life insurance investments should be directed towards JEIs at all investment stages;
- Repayable OSEO advances should be reintegrated in the expenses eligible for the Crédit Impôt Recherche (CIR [Research Tax Credit]) for JEIs; the CIR should be reinstated at 50% the first year for JEIs and 40% the second year and 50% of the CIR of large enterprises should be made contingent on cooperation with SMEs.
About Truffle Capital
Founded in 2001 in Paris, Truffle Capital is a leading independent European private equity firm. It is dedicated to investing in and building technology leaders in the IT, life sciences and energy sectors. Truffle Capital manages €550M via FCPRs and FCPIs, the latter offering tax rebate (funds are blocked during 7 to 10 years). Truffle Capital is led by a team of four partners, Jean-François Fourt, Henri Moulard, Philippe Pouletty and Bernard-Louis Roques, with decades of successful investment and entrepreneurial experience in both Europe and North America. Truffle Capital aims to achieve superior financial returns by leveraging its industry knowledge, extensive network, operational experience and focus on spin-offs to identify business opportunities that match latent market needs.
For further information, please visit www.truffle.com and www.fcpi.fr.
Contact at Truffle Capital: Sneha HIREMATH, Investor Relations, +331 82 28 46 00, sneha@truffle.com
Press Contact: Alize RP, Caroline Carmagnol, +336 64 18 99 59, caroline@alizerp.com
