Paris, 19 July 2007

Luxat has been acquired in an MBO equally by LCL Régions Développement and Avenir Entreprises. Jean-Luc Ferlicchi, Chairman of Luxat, and the company's top-level managers also participated in the transaction.

This change in the shareholding structure occurred on the occasion of the withdrawal of long-standing shareholders and financial partners that had invested in the company as part of an LBO in 1998.

Based in Hasparren in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region of France, Luxat is a manufacturer specialising in the design, production and distribution of comfort shoes for the elderly. The company sells over 370,000 pairs of shoes a year, making it one of the leading comfort shoes manufacturers in France. Its customer network in France comprises multi-brand retailers and major retail chains, with the support of an effective production subsidiary in Tunisia.

Under the aegis of Chairman Jean-Luc Ferlicchi, who joined the company in January 2005, Luxat has gained new impetus and reported sales of over €12 million in 2006. Thanks to the rationalisation of production and the financial strength accumulated over the last three years, Luxat is now in a position to enter a period of growth through acquisitions, targeting companies offering a strategic fit in terms of commercial activities and significant production synergies.