Truffle Capital Unveils the Seventh Edition of Its Benchmark "Truffle 100 Europe" Observatory of the Top 100 European Software Firms

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The leading European private equity firm TRUFFLE CAPITAL (http://www.truffle.com) has just published the seventh edition of its Truffle 100 ranking of the top 100 European software companies. The Truffle 100 Europe (www.truffle100.com ) has been drawn up with the support of Neelie Kroes (European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda) and in collaboration with analysts IDC (www.idc.com) and CXP Group (www.cxp.fr), who performed the survey on which the ranking is based.

"This latest edition of the Truffle 100 Europe - the 7th- demonstrates that the software industry can be extremely dynamic even in a particularly difficult economic climate. This is borne out by strong R&D job creation that promotes added value employment in local areas,” commented Truffle Capital co-founder and CEO Bernard-Louis Roques.

In 2011, French software firms accounted for 10.9% of the total turnover in the Truffle 100 Europe with only 17 editors (instead of the previous 18), keeping the third place. Germany is number 1 (48.8% with 15 firms) and the United Kingdom, second (14.8% with 22 editors).

Key figures from the Truffle 100 Europe:

• Total revenues were up by 20% for 2011 with €37.2 billion, compared with €30.9 billion in 2010 and €27.1 billion in 2009. 76% of this figure was generated by the ranking's top 25 companies (63% in 2010).
• 60 vendors posted revenues of over €100 million (49 in 2010) and 90 vendors earned over €50 million (85 in 2010). All Truffle 100 Europe companies had revenues of over €40 million.
• Profits rose from €5.8 billion in 2010 to €6.6 billion in 2011 (14% increase).
• The number of R&D jobs rose slightly, from 55 268 in 2010 to 59 636 in 2011.
• R&D investment increased significantly from €4.43 billion in 2010 to €5.7 billion in 2011 (a 28% increase).

For further information, please visit www.truffle.com and www.fcpi.fr.