PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Truffle Capital, a leading European private equity firm (www.truffle.com) today reached a key milestone in its corporate development by opening an office in São Paulo, Brazil.
The four partners of Truffle Capital, Jean-François Fourt, Henri Moulard, Philippe Pouletty and Bernard-Louis Roques emphasized: "The Brazilian market has true development potential for Truffle Capital and its portfolio companies. Opening an office in Brazil is a strategic move that will enable us to deploy the investment strategy that has proved its worth in Europe. Brazil was the world’s 7th largest economy in 2010 (ahead of Italy) and is set to overtake France by 2015; in this high-potential market, our experience as business-builders will enable us to grow our portfolio companies and then invest in innovative Brazilian firms".
Truffle Capital's IT portfolio company Leadmedia (Alternext Paris: ALLMG) had already taken a similar step forward by taking over a Brazilian company (BuscaDescontos), which achieved its first major success in Brazil thanks to an internet campaign launched on Black Friday and which generated 8 million qualified contacts within a week. BuscaDescontos has acknowledged skills in website design, e-mailshots, consultancy on “couponing” and performance-based e-mail marketing.
"With over 190 million inhabitants, Brazil has tripled the number of its internet users and doubled its GDP over the last five years. In the coming years, the country’s online advertising market should expand by about 30% a year, making Brazil the world’s fastest-growing market after China (Source: Zenith Optimedia). Internet marketing budgets are growing the quickest and should soon treble to reach levels similar to those seen in the French market, i.e. about 15% of the total marketing budget (versus 5% in 2010). Brazil gives us fabulous potential for growth and value creation and our goal is to be a key player in the country’s move towards performance-based online marketing", underlined Leadmedia Group’s founder and CEO Stephane Darracq.
Utel, one of Truffle Capital’s IT portfolio companies, is a boutique publisher in the area of mobile telephony, specializing in social networks such as casual dating and the next company in Truffle Capital’s IT portfolio to have scheduled a business launch in Brazil from January 2012 onwards. It has triple-digit growth potential, in view of the convergence of its applications on tablets, the web and web-connected TV; the company expects to generate over €7 million in turnover in 2011. For more information, visit www.utel.fr
Deinove (Alternext Paris: ALDEI), one of Truffle Capital’s life sciences portfolio company, is a greentech company dedicated to the development and commercial exploitation of innovative technological processes for the production of biofuels and other compounds of industrial or pharmaceutical interest, by exploiting the deinococci's exceptional natural properties. Deinove is exploring in Brazil R&D and industrial collaborations in the fields of biomass degradation, production of biofuels and high value green chemistry products.
Eco-Carbone, one of Truffle Capital’s energy portfolio companies, has been active in Brazil since 2006. Eco Carbone is very active in the jatropha-based biofuel production market especially in Brazil where the Jatropha’s genetic diversity is very high and used to identify and select lineages presenting exceptional features (above-average number of fruits per tree, adaptation to extreme drought conditions or rainfall etc.) and also develop high potential yielding hybrids.
About Truffle Capital
www.truffle.com and www.fcpi.fr