ARCHIVE 2005

Iris Capital and Invision buy out a majority stake of RFID systems provider Datamars SA

Paris (France), Zug, Lugano (Switzerland), March 30, 2005 – A consortium of investors led by Iris Capital and Invision and including CornerstoneCapital and Universal Capital Partners has invested EUR 12M to acquire a majority of shares of Swiss technology company Datamars SA, a leading supplier of RFID systems internationally.

Datamars, based near Lugano, Switzerland, is a worldwide leader in the provision of RFID systems. It provides complete systems tuned to deliver optimized performance in a range of vertical segments: professional laundries, animal identification and other industries where identification in critical environment conditions is necessary.

Datamars’ automated, contactless item identification systems afford clients a rapid return on investment by enabling considerable productivity gains, for instance in the textiles logistics sector. The company’s animal tagging offering allows miniature transponders to replace animal identification methods used to date and thus increases animal safety.

With its full line of products in the textiles logistics division, Datamars has, over the last years, supplied over 50 million transponders and equipped more than 500 industrial laundries worldwide. Datamars recently enhanced its RFID product spectrum by launching a new RFID product line based on the High Frequency 13.56MHz, of which it presently announces the first site installations. In the companion animal tagging division, Datamars is the leading supplier in Europe with strong distribution partners, among which Bayer, Virbac and Novartis.

The company was founded in 1986 and it counts today over 70 team members in Europe and in the USA. In 2004, Datamars achieved a record year with revenues close to EUR 13M, i.e. a 28% increase over 2003, and significant profitability.

A consortium of investors including Iris Capital (Paris), Invision (Zug, Switzerland), CornerstoneCapital (Frankfurt) and Universal Capital Partners (Brussels) have bought out the shares of founding investors Innovent Capital Ltd. and Zurmont Capital I. Along with the Founder and CEO Parvis Hassan-Zade, Innovent Capital and Zurmont successfully brought Datamars to its dominant position in two of the most successful RFID vertical markets. Iris Capital and its co-investors intend to support actively the company’s drive for further international growth.

Says Parvis Hassan-Zade on the transaction: “The fact that Datamars could attract such a high-profile and international consortium of investors is a validation of our positioning and strategy. I very much look forward to the active collaboration of my new partners in Datamars.”

Alexander Wiedmer, Partner of Iris Capital, says: “Datamars is active in high growth segments in a technology environment that is gaining a lot of momentum in the market. We firmly see Datamars as both a technological and market leader in RFID today. We were especially impressed by the company’s strict control over, and know-how in, all aspects of its chosen vertical markets.”

Martin Staub, Partner of Invision, says: “Datamars has great fundamentals: sales growth, good profitability, and client loyalty as manifested by recurring revenue. We have no doubt this is a solid investment with clear upside potential. We were impressed by the track record and ability of Mr. Hassan-Zade and his team, and believe that the company is in good hands to achieve its aggressive goals.”

More information on Datamars can be found at www.datamars.com.

About Iris Capital

Iris Capital is a pan-European venture and development capital company specialising in media, communications and information technology. Since its inception in the mid-eighties, the Paris-based Iris Capital team has managed investments in more than 180 companies located in 17 countries, and has generated more than 130 full exits, achieving consistently superior returns. Iris Capital targets opportunities in high-growth technology or services companies accross various investment stages, and provides active support to its portfolio companies.
For additional information, see www.iriscapital.com

About Invision

Invision is a leading Swiss based private equity firm investing primarily in growth companies in Europe. Invision is dedicated to back entrepreneurs that have the drive and ability to build world class companies that become a dominant player in their market. Over the last decade, Invision built up a proven experience of investing and activly supporting more than 60 companies and an excellent track record with 13 IPOs and numerous trade sales. The investment activity is focused on information technology, medical technology and innovative service business.
For additional information please refer to www.invision.ch

About CornerstoneCapital

CornerstoneCapital is a private equity company with an investment focus on high-tech engineering, information technology and medical technology and covering Germany and Switzerland. Cornerstone invests in small and medium-sized technology or technology-related companies that seek growth capital or desire to effect a Management Buy-out.
For additional information, see www.cornerstonecapital.de

About Universal Capital Partners

Universal Capital Partners (UCP) is a private equity company under Belgian law, active among small and mid-sized growth companies. Acting usually as minority shareholder, UCP’s investment strategy is based on the intention to provide strong support to the boards of directors and management of its portfolio companies. Fields of investment include luxury industry, technology and innovative industries and services.

Contacts

Datamars Parvis Hassan-Zade +41 91 935 73 80 hassanzade@datamars.com
Iris Capital Pierre Chevallier +33 1 45 62 73 50 p.chevallier@iriscapital.com
Invision Martin Staub +41 41 729 01 01 staub@invision.ch
CornerstoneCapital Pieter van Halem +49 69 78 90 470 vanhalem@cornerstonecapital.de
UCP Paul Sfez +33 1 56 43 35 55 paul.sfez@fm-management.com
Innovent Capital Ltd. Hans Wyss +41 79 416 55 88 wym@bluewin.ch
Zurmont Capital I Ernesto Maurer +41 1 206 73 23 ernesto.maurer@zurmont.ch

Advisors

Advisors to the Consortium: Baer & Karrer, Zurich (Michele Bernasconi, Michel Huber)
Bernard-Hertz-Bejot, Paris (Alexander Blumrosen)
Ernst & Young, Zurich (Peter Dauwalder, Vincenzo Braiotta)

Advisors to the Sellers: Binder Corporate Finance AG, Bern (Peter Binder, Roberto Tracia)
Wenger & Vieli, Zurich (Urs Gut)