The Cisneros family, founder of Exotismes, shall keep 39% of Exotismes group, whereas the Teker family and investors such as BNP Paribas Développement, Sofipaca and ID Sud are withdrawing from the group. Specialized in holidays spent in French-speaking islands, the tour operator is located in Marseille, employs 70 people and generated a turnover in the amount of €75M in 2005.

 The legal and tax advisors of the founders are François Perruchot-Triboulet (partner), Clyve Monfredo and Olivier Nett (associates).

Doughty Hanson, the British investment funds, has taken a share of approximately 75 % in group KP1. Created in 1959, KP1 is a specialist of constructive systems in relation to floors and buildings structures and frameworks, with a specificity: prestressed concrete. KP1 generated in 2005 a turnover amounting to 173 million euros and employs 1,400 people. In 2006, the group intends to reach a consolidated turnover in the amount of 310 million euros. Management has taken advantage of this transaction to increase its share from 11 % to 25 % and announces acquisitions, to be made abroad in priority.

 Legal adviser: BIGNON LEBRAY and ASSOCIES (Lionel Weller, Clyve Monfredo).

Garella, the ready-to-wear clothing company, has opened up its capital to two investors, Naxicap and EPF Partners.

These two investors have taken both a direct and indirect 30% share in Groupe Garella company, Jean-Brice Garella, its president, is keeping 70 % of the shares. The group that is holding and exploiting mainly five female ready-to-wear trademarks, has generated in 2006 a turnover amounting to 46 million euros and intends to stimulate its growth by external growths. It is the first stage of the company’s offensive, whose objective, according to its president is to reach 'the 5th position in the sector thanks to the short-term acquisition of two complementary trademarks that will enable us to be stronger internationally and to double the size of our company.'

The transferor was advised by Clyve Monfredo and Loïc Pellegrino (legal matters) and by Lionel Weller (partner) and Christophe Lestringant (tax matters).

Specialized in the integration of networks safety, and management of information systems, Groupe Diwan has 280 employees, and generated a turnover of 36 M€ in 2005 (the objective is to reach 50 M€ in 2006), for a net income of 1,1 M€.

Groupe Diwan is listed on Alternext. Groupe Diwan is composed of Dynetcom, an integrator specialized in the safety of the information system and Unidirect, a specialist in systems safety. JP Technologies, acquired in January 2006 came to supplement the offer of Diwan on the voice on IP and voice-data convergence. In order to accelerate its diversification, the enterprise branch of France Telecom repurchased 72% of Diwan for a total amount of 28.2 M€, at the price of 41.97 euros per share, which sets the valuation of Diwan Group at 39.2 M€.

The purchaser’s counsel - accounting due diligence: KPMG (Pascal Bonnet, David Espitallier); legal advisor: Fried Frank (Eric Cafritz, Laurent Assaya). The Seller’s counsels - financial: Financière Cambon (David Salabi, Mostapha Bouras); legal advisor: Bignon Lebray & Associés (Christophe Cochet, Marie Benoit-Gonin).

Miyowa, the European leader of instant message services for mobile phones, has raised 3M€ from investors such as Techfund and Sophia Eurolab (up to the amount of 1,5M€ each).

The funds raised should enable this start-up of 30 employees to accelerate its growth, in particular in the United States. Started in 2003 and based in Paris, Miyowa has created the first generic technology to access instant message services on mobile phones, compatible with current standards known as: MoveMessenger™. Its activity of design and development is carried on from its offices located in Marseille. Miyowa has also set up a development team in Bangkok.

François Perruchot-Triboulet, partner, and Loïc Pellegrino, associate, have been advising the company.

2nd financial pool for Innova Card which has raised 5 M€

Innova Card, a start-up company created in 2002 and located in La Ciotat, is specialized in the development and design of security solutions for chip card systems. The company that has 25 employees, is forecasting a sales turnover that should amount to 1.4 M€ for 2006 to strike a balance in two years. Innova Card is strengthening its capital structure with a 2nd financial pool at 5 M€: contribution in the amount of 2.5 M€ from its historical investors (Siparex Ventures, LC Capital and Innovacom) and a few businesses angels, along with 2.5 M€ from a newcomer, Vivéris Management, an investor from Marseille.

Bignon Lebray & Associés (François Perruchot-Triboulet, partner, and Corinne Maquenne) have advised the company.

On March 1, 2006, Ambrilia Biopharma Inc. (formerly Procyon Biopharma Inc.), a biotechnology company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and developing innovative therapeutics in the fields of cancer and HIV/AIDS, completed its acquisition of over 96 per cent of all outstanding securities of Cellpep S.A., a French private biotechnology company developing therapeutics in oncology and infectious diseases, in exchange for the issuance of 116,571,145 common shares valued at $39.1 million. Ambrilia also completed a concurrent $14 million special warrant private placement, which was sold on a best effort basis by Dundee Securities Corporation, as lead agent, together with Loewen, Ondaatje, McCutcheon Limited and Desjardins Securities Inc., as well as a $3.9 million similar financing with certain shareholders of Cellpep.

Ambrilia was represented in-house by Richard La Rue, vice-president legal affairs, human resources and general secretary, and in Canada by BCF LLP with a team led by Pierre Dozois that included Julie Doré (corporate), Jean-Pierre Huard, Pascal de Guise and François Brabant (securities), Ronald S. Kosie, Jean-Nicolas Delage, Janique Forget and MarieJosée Lapointe (intellectual property) and Robert Korne (tax). In France, Ambrilia was represented by Bignon Lebray & Associés with a team led by Jacques Goyet, on the corporate aspects including Claire Baufine-Ducrocq, Corinne Cuenca and led by Céline Rang on the HR and tax aspects including Sebastien Rodriguez. Cellpep was represented in France by Guillaume de Ternay of Lamartine Conseil, and in Canada by Paul Asselin. Dundee Securities was represented by Borden Ladner Gervais LLP with a team led by Fred Enns that included Kathleen Marsman (intellectual property), Peter Casey and Neil Hazan (corporate) and Élise Renaud (securities). Business Development Bank of Canada, the lead investor, was represented by Patrick Boucher of McCarthy Tétrault LLP.