© Roland Berger Strategy Consultants

Performance à la Française

Best of European Business Paris
French companies with outstanding performance were honored with a 'Best of European Business' award in an exclusive ceremony in the Musée du Quai Branly. A global insurance leader and a popular food services provider were recognized for their achievements.

More than 1,000 invited guests celebrated the outstanding performance of European companies in the global market place at the fourth annual 'Best of European Business' award in Paris, France. Leaders from business and politics gathered in the unique setting of the French capital's Musée du Quai Branly to witness the presentation of the awards and admire the famed museum's original artifacts in a private setting.

Vincent Mercier, Member of Roland Berger's Executive Committee and Managing Partner of the firm's Paris Office, offered his insights into the future of globalization in his opening address.

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, former President of the European Convention, addressed the political future of the European Union. In a panel discussion with members of the jury and French business leaders, the key strategies for European companies doing business on the global market were discussed. Participants included Pierre-André de Chalendar, General Manager of Saint-Gobain, José Luis Duran, CEO of Carrefour, Charles Milhaud, CEO of Caisse nationale des Caisses d'Epargne and Gilles Pélisson, Administrator and General Manager of Accor and was moderated by François Lenglet, Editor-in-Chief of Media Partner Enjeux-les-Echos.

Rounding out the evening's speeches, Hubert Védrine, former French Minister of Foreign Affairs offered his first hand insights on the development of European integration in light of the pressures of globalization, a topic he also addresses in his latest publication on France's role in the world.

Over 20 companies were nominated for awards in the two main categories of the competition. A special, national prize was presented to those companies with particularly strong performance in European markets other than their own. The world leader in building materials, Lafarge, was honored with the 'Grand Prix' of this year's competition.

In a process that lasted over six months, analysts from Roland Berger Strategy Consultants examined publicly available data on growth performance, shareholder value development and European reach to develop a list of nominees for each category. A jury of business leaders, economic experts and the Editor-in-Chief of BEB-Mediapartner 'Enjeux-les-Echos' then had the difficult task of identifying the winners for the prize ceremony that has become a highlight of the city's event calendar.
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Members of the jury included Arnaud Lagardère, General and Managing Partner of Lagardère SCA, Michel Bon, Senior Advisor to Close Brothers, François Lenglet, Bernard Ramanantsoa, Professor of Strategy and Business Policy and Managing Director of HEC Business School, the academic partner of the competition and Vincent Mercier, Partner and Member of Roland Berger's Executive Committee.

In the 'Growth' category, jury members examined the performance of large companies with a revenue of more than EUR 1 billion between 2002 and 2006 based on publicly available data and a close analysis of their strategy. Medium-sized businesses with less than EUR 1 billion in turnaround in this category were evaluated based on the same criteria.

In order to determine the winner in the 'Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions' category, the experts weighted the Abnormal Stock Return, a composite index of the difference between the actual development of a paper following the announcement of an acquisition and the projected stock development rate without the purchase.

Both large and medium-sized companies with outstanding performances outside of the French domestic market were honored with a 'Europeanness' award, this year's special category.

And the winners are..

Growth
  • CFF Derichebourg is a global player in operational recycling and management of recycling centers. Its services include helping local authorities to address every aspect of waste management. The members of the jury underlined the company's strong growth of 34% in sales in just the first half of 2006 and the sizeable jump in its business services to EUR 307 million. The company performed even stronger outside of its domestic market, France, with 64% of its annual growth in 2004 other countries. It has extended its reach into European markets, including to Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal, but also to the United States and Mexico.
  • Machinery and equipment manufacturer Haulotte Group won the jury's approval in the medium-sized company category for this award. As the global number three, the experts in material lifting and compact construction equipment, the firm has operations that extend around the globe from Europe to Asia, Russia to the United States and Australia. It, too, impressed the jury with growth over 34% between 2005 and 2006 alone and a highly diversified range of products. In 2007, projected growth rates amount to 20%
Europeanness
  • Food and facilities manager Sodexho, which provides millions of warm meals in schools and business in 80 countries around the world in addition to its service voucher and card operations won the large company prize in this special category. Jury members were impressed not only by its performance in Europe, where the company generates 84% of its turnover, but also by its innovative, globally focused approach. In the UK, the company launched 'SoDelicious' providing high-calorie, high-protein, high-vitamin desserts to prevent the symptoms of malnutrition, which affect primarily hospital patients and the elderly. In addition, the firm's commitment to sustainable operations through reduced energy consumption and a commitment to waste reduction brought a favorable jury voting.
  • Ingenico, the world leaders in secure payment solutions won the medium-sized company award in this category. The provider of hardware and software solutions for card payments had an impressive global expansion to 27 countries to become the global number one, the jury noted. With the opening of additional European markets to the East, the company had seized new opportunities and opened facilities in Hungary, Poland and Serbia. In addition, Ingenico had developed long-term strategies toward leadership in more contested markets, including the United States, China and Japan.
Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions
  • The acquisition of Swiss-market champion Winterthur by insurance provider Axa in 2006 won the jury's vote for large companies in this category. Access to the lucrative Swiss market had only been one reason for the purchase. The complementarities of the products offered by both firms and Winterthur's global reach had allowed Axa to specialize further and increase its presence on the world insurance market by 20%. Synergy potential to the amount of EUR 350 million looked to promise a bright future for Axa following the acquisition.
  • Popular software supplier Avanquest was lauded for its acquisition of Nova Development, the parent company of photo-sharing service Snapfish and Berlitz language software. The jury was favorably impressed with Avanquest's critical mass, having recently become one of the top six global software providers. With the acquisition of Nova Development, Avanquest has doubled its size on the all-important American market and strengthened its leader status in more than 10 areas of specialized SME computer operations.
Grand Prix
  • Lafarge the world leader in building materials was presented with the evening's highest honor, the 'Grand Prix' of the competition. In selecting the company, the jury evaluated its strong, sustainable growth rate, its purchase of 46,8% of the capital of Lafarge North America, previously held by minority shareholders and its strong position in its markets, where it etains the number one spot in cement and granulates.
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Feb 12, 2008

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