European Venture Capital Journal articles from October 2004

European Venture Capital Journal archives from October 2004

Chemicals: riding on the crest of a wave: at the end of August, Close Brothers Private Equity sold Aroma & Fine Chemicals to Octel, a global specialty chemical company, for 21m [pounds sterling]. The private equity house is thought to have got a return on its investment in Aroma, which was the subject of a management buyout in 2001, of over 3.2x original capital invested.(News Analysis)
October 1, 2004... The deal illustrates the attraction of the European chemicals industry to private equity players, who have bought into nearly a hundred companies in the past 10 years. Interest in this industry is expected to remain high, with an estimated 10bn...

Business angels: funding a gap.(News Analysis)
October 1, 2004... There are currently around 18,000 active business angels in the UK and that number is increasing across Europe. Business angel investment activity in the UK has reached 500m [pounds sterling] invested in around 3,500 businesses per annum and...

PR: what is it good for?(public relations)
October 1, 2004... Over the last decade, the number of private equity houses has more than doubled and, with it, press coverage. The role of the PR has never been more important, and its changing role, from just sending out the odd press release to becoming what...

Sarkozy boosts French private equity.(News)(French Finance Minister, Nicholas Sarkozy)
October 1, 2004... The French Finance Minister's bid to become the next French President provides a fillip for the private equity industry as he persuades the insurance industry to up its allocation. Ben Harding reports. Nicholas Sarkozy, the French Finance...

ERGO Equity Partner becomes AVIDA.(News)(AVIDA Group GmbH)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... ERGO Versicherungsgruppe has sold private equity firm ERGO Equity Partner AG, the distressed portfolio fund manager, to AVIDA Group GmbH. The new company will be renamed AVIDA Equity Partners GmbH. AVIDA Group was founded in 1999 to advise...

Innisfree closes fund.(Funds)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Infrastructure investment firm Innisfree has closed its third private equity fund, Innisfree PFI Fund III, on 360m [pounds sterling], well above its original target of 250m [pounds sterling]. The fund will focus on private finance initiative...

Norwegian fund reaches close.(Funds)(Ferd Private Equity Fund )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Ferd Private Equity Fund reached a first close on target at NOK1.25bn, making it the largest private equity fund in Norway Norwegian industrial group Ferd is the largest investor in the fund The first closing of the fund was targeted al...

MPC launches new fund-of-funds.(Funds)(MPC Muenchmeyer Petersen Capital AG)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... German investor MPC Muenchmeyer Petersen Capital AG is to launch a new private equity fund-of-funds. MPC Global Equity VI will be managed by Global Vision AG, and has a target size of 25m [euro]. The fund-of-funds will invest in funds in a wide...

LGT closes fund.(Funds)(LGT Capital Partners)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Swiss-based alternative investment manager LGT Capital Partners has closed Crown Private Equity European Buyout Opportunities on 392m [euro]. The fund will focus on small and mid-market buyout funds in Europe and has already made commitments in...

Gemini closes fourth fund.(Funds)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Gemini Israel Funds has reached final close on Gemini Israel IV at US$200m. Like its predecessors the fund will focus mainly on investments in IT in the areas of enterprise software, communications and semiconductors in seed or early stage...

Coller acquires Dresdner assets.(News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Coller Capital is to acquire a private equity portfolio from The Institutional Restructuring Unit (IRU) of Dresdner Bank. The portfolio consists of 22 different companies mainly based in the US and operating in a diverse range of business...

Cipio Partners gets T-Venture portfolio.(News)(T-Venture Holding GmbH)
October 1, 2004... Cipio Partners has acquired a portfolio of 15 direct investments from T-Venture Holding GmbH, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG. Financial details of the transaction were undisclosed. Cipio Partners is an international private...

US firms pay out for UK PE expertise.(News)(Private equity)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Private equity lawyers are commanding the largest sums in UK legal history as US firms are poaching the star performing UK professionals of leading private equity law firms such as SJ Berwin and Clifford Chance. According to research from...

What price to join a US firm?(News)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
October 1, 2004... Partner name Former firm New firm David Aknin Linklaters Weil Gotshal Thomas Forschbach Ashurst Latham & Watkins Peter Nussbaum Freshfields Milbank Tweed Matthew Hudson SJ...

Mezzanine: a competitive space.(News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The increasing popularity of investing in European mezzanine is encouraging new investors to enter the market who are unlikely to be committed to mezzanine over the long term, says a special report by Fitch Ratings. With an increasingly diverse...

Benchmark's new Euro fund.(News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Benchmark Capital has closed its second European fund, Benchmark Europe II, on US$375m (306m [euro]). This fund follows on from the US$500m raised in May 2000 for its first European fund, which was trimmed from its original target of US$750m....

Final close for Partners Group.(News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Partners Group, the Swiss hedge fund and private equity specialists, has reached a final close on its global fund, Partners Group Secondary. At 500m [euro], the firm said client demand significantly exceeded the cap, which had previously...

CalPERS sued for fees disclosure.(News)(California. Public Employees' Retirement System, California First Amendment Coalition )
October 1, 2004... The California First Amendment Coalition has filed a lawsuit compelling the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) to disclose private equity lees paid to individual private equity partners. The lawsuit was filed after CalPERS...

Enterprise investors lead MBI & MBO club.(News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Polish PE firm Enterprise Investors has joined Pedersen & Partners as co-manager of the only MBO and MBI club in the region. The club is an informal network of a select group of successful directors and managers, and covers Poland, Czech...

Private companies positive about future.(News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Private companies remain positive about business, political and economic climates, according to the third quarterly 3i European Enterprise Barometer Index of 2004. The figure for Europe, +30, is equal to what it was in QI but is slightly...

Investing with caution.(News)
October 1, 2004... Private equity investors are less optimistic now than they were two years ago with 64% expecting activity in the private equity market to be on the increase, compared to 73% in 2002. The findings come from law firm BDO Stoy Hayward's research...

VCT performance improvement campaign.(venture capital trusts)
October 1, 2004... VCT performance has been in the spotlight recently, but not for the right reasons and most notably due to the high number of underperforming trusts. The United Kingdom Shareholders Association (UKSA), as the main voice of private shareholders...

Leman sells Guy Laroche.(Exits)(YGM Trading acquires)(Rech International)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Swiss firm Leman Capital, via its fashion platform Rech International, has exited French fashion house Guy Laroche. Rech International acquired Guy Laroche in December 2001 from the BIC Group for an undisclosed sum. YGM Trading has...

Gain for Aberdeen Asset Management.(Exits)(Multifabs)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The private equity arm of Aberdeen Asset Management has sold its stake in Aberdeen-based survival clothing specialists, Multifabs. CHC Scotia has acquired the company. Aberdeen Asset Management's clients, including Aberdeen Development Capital,...

Carlyle exits Honsel.(Exits)(Carlyle Group L.P)(Ripplewood Holdings acquires Honsel International Technologies)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Carlyle Group has signed an agreement to sell Honsel International Technologies, a German automotive parts supplier, to New York-based private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings. Financial details were not disclosed. The sale marks the...

WestLB makes a loss on Odeon sale.(Exits)(Odeon Cinemas)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Terra Firma Capital Partners has bought UK cinema chain Odeon from WestLB's principal finance group for a reported 596m [euro]. An official figure has not been released, but a value of 596m [euro] would mean WestLB and consortium members...

Graphite makes partial exit from Wagamama.(Exits)(Graphite Capital Management Ltd.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Graphite Capital has completed the refinancing of Wagamama, in a transaction valuing the noodle restaurant chain at 63m [pounds sterling]. The transaction gives Graphite Capital a return of over five times its investment. It also provides...

Cazenove in tech exit.(Exits)
October 1, 2004... UK tech company KVault Software (KVS) has been sold by shareholders Cazenove Private Equity, Lehman Brothers and Mosaic Venture Partners, among others, to US software company Veritas for US$225m. KVS was formed following a management buyout...

3i exits German energy business.(Exits)(3i Deutschland)(Gesellschaft fur wirtschaftliche Energieversorgung (GWE) to STAR Capital Partners)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... 3i Deutschland has sold its stake in German energy provider GWE Gesellschaft fur wirtschaftliche Energieversorgung (GWE) to STAR Capital Partners. Financial details were not revealed. GWE is STAR's first investment in Germany and the firm...

Primary makes tasty exit.(Exits)
October 1, 2004... Primary Capital has sold The British Pepper & Spice Company and Gourmet Garden Europe to SHS Group Limited for an undisclosed price. Primary backed an 8.5m [pounds sterling] MBO of BP&S from its Primary Capital I Fund in May 1998 from...

AXA'S 3x return.(Exits)(Titanite to Fonds Partenaires Gestion)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... AXA Private Equity has sold French drilling and mining company Titanite to Fonds Partenaires Gestion in a 64.5m [euro] deal, making a 3x return. Fonds Partenaires Gestion, via its Partenaires Midcap fund, owns 80% of the company....

Montagu acquires Maplin in Graphite exit.(Exits)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Graphite Capital has sold Maplin Electronics, the UK retailer of electronic and computer components, equipment and accessories, to Montagu in a 244m [pounds sterling] deal. The full exit, from Graphite Capital Partners V and Graphite...

Admiral to float.(Exits)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Admiral Group, the UK motor insurance business, has released the price range for its IPO, valuing the company between 634m [pounds sterling] and 776m [pounds sterling]. An investor group led by Barclays Private Equity acquired the business in...

AXA out of Icare.(Exits)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... AXA Private Equity has made its third exit of the year through its LBO funds with the sale of Icare, the insurance and services group specializing in vehicle maintenance and mechanical breakdown warranties, to the Europ Assistance Group....

First exit for Perfectis.(Exits)(Perfectis Private Equity)(AtriA Capital Partenaires)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Paris-based firm Perfectis Private Equity has sold its stake in SENI, a French provider of maintenance services for low-income houses, to AtriA Capital Partenaires in a secondary buyout transaction Financial details of the transaction were not...

FTE refinancing complete.(Exits)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... HgCapital has completed a 225m [euro] recapitalisation of FTE Automotive GmbH, a German supplier of automobile parts. The refinancing has allowed HgCapital to return to its investors 91m [euro] in cash, or 1.7x cost, while at the same time...

Southern Cross goes to Blackstone.(Exits)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... West Private Equity has made its first exit with the sale of Southern Cross Healthcare Ltd to funds advised by the Blackstone Group, just two years since it originally invested in the business. Southern Cross has been sold for 162 [pounds...

Alchemy sees double in pub sale.(Exits)(InnSpired Group)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Alchemy Partners has sold InnSpired group, the operator of 1,064 British pubs, to Punch Taverns in a 335m [pounds sterling] deal, slightly double the firm's original investment. Punch, the UK's second largest pub landlord, now owns 8,310...

EU exits up by over a fifth according to SCM report.(Exits)(European Union)(Strategic Capital Management)
October 1, 2004... Exits in EU funds were up 21% in 2003, a new report published by Swiss gatekeeper Strategic Capital Management (SCM) found. In the first report of its kind produced by the firm, SCM surveyed 103 private equity funds of 53 GPs from vintage...

US presence in European buyouts grows.(Buyouts)
October 1, 2004... US private equity houses have stepped up their onslaught on corporate Europe, and in the leveraged buyout financing arena, the number of US institutional investors buying European senior debt and mezzanine is also rising. The US influence is...

LBO syndications.(Leveraged buyouts)
October 1, 2004... AA Target nation: UK Data announced: July 2004 Deal type: LBO Acquirer: CVC and Permira Total value: 1.75bn [pounds sterling] Mandated arranger: Barclays Financing: 1.3bn [pounds sterling] The 1.3bn [pounds...

Refinancings.(Buyout)
October 1, 2004... Adisseo Mandated lead arrangers JP Morgan and PBS are in talks with sponsor CVC Capital Partners about re-cutting Adisseo's (formerly Animal Aventis Nutrition) 250m [euro] leverage recapitalisation after the deal has received a lukewarm...

Private equity-backed takeovers subject to EU Competition law.(Buyouts)(European Union)
October 1, 2004... AA Private equity backer: CVC, Permira Business description: Motoring organisation Deal value: 1.75bn [pounds sterling] Notified: 23/07/04 Provisional deadline: n/a Cleared: 27/08/04 The European Commission has...

NVM appoints.(People)(Northern Venture Managers )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Northern Venture Managers (NVM), the UK VC firm, has appointed Martin Green as an investment director. Green joins from Montagu Capital where he was one of the founding directors. Prior to this, he was a director at 3i.

3i head resigns.(Martin Gagen has quit from 3i Group PLC )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... 3i has announced its head of the US and Asia Pacific regions has quit. Martin Gagen, 48, is stepping down just months after the arrival of new chief executive Philip Yea. Gagen is leaving to take up a place at Stanford University. Allan...

Altium raids CL.(People)(Credit Lyonnais Securities)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Altium, the pan-European investment banking group, has appointed David Hart as managing director and Mare Milmo as assistant director of the corporate finance team, both arriving from Credit Lyonnais Securities. Hart was director of...

Alcentra boosts team.(People)(Graeme Delaney-Smith and Ben Edgar )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Institutional investor Alcentra has made two appointments to its European team. Graeme Delaney-Smith will join the firm in September as executive director and head of mezzanine investments. He joins from Intermediate Capital Group, where he was...

Close Brothers appoints.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Close Brothers' Corporate Restructuring Group (CRG) has recruited Matthew Prest as a director. He joins from M&G Investment Management Limited, where he was a director of restructuring. CRG has also appointed Simon Davies as a manager.

BoS recruits.(People)(Bank of Scotland appoints Andrew Foggo)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Bank of Scotland has appointed Andrew Foggo to its corporate and leveraged loans distribution team. He will jointly lead the team with Barrie Williams and both will report to David Gibson, bead of loans distribution. Foggo's previous role was...

CAM hires trio.(CAM Private Equity appoints Jurgen Borchers and Atila Kiline and Dr Barbara Weber)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... CAM Private Equity, a leading German fund-of-funds investment management firm, has recruited Jurgen Borchers and Atila Kiline, both from PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Dr Barbara Weber, who has worked as investor relations manager for venture...

Hawkpoint hires director.(Hawkpoint Partners Ltd appoints Michael Barnes)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Hawkpoint has appointed Michael Barnes as director in the firm's debt advisory practice in the leveraged finance arena. He joins from CIBC World Markets in London where he was managing director in European leveraged finance.

Inflexion in Manchester.(Inflexion Private Equity)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Inflexion Private Equity has opened an office in Manchester, to be run by Tim Smallbone. The Manchester office will be responsible for developing and growing Inflexion's Northern-based private equity business focusing on buyout and development...

Greenpark hires.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Secondaries firm Greenpark Capital has appointed Permira's Christophe Nicolas as investment director and Ottavia Tuinhout as investment analyst. Nicolas joins Greenpark from Permira where he was involved in transaction origination and...

PwC appoints Montagu.(People)(PricewaterhouseCoopers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... PricewaterhouseCoopers has appointed former Inland Revenue Chairman Sir Nicholas Montagu KCB to its corporate finance advisory board. During his 30-year career in the British civil service, Sir Nicholas has held senior positions in various...

HgCapital promotes.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... HgCapital has made four management promotions. Directors Nic Humphries and Martin Block have been elected to the partnership; Karsten Hartmann has become a director; and Justin von Simson has become an associate director. Humphries joined...

Fins and Lithuanians unite.(People)(Borenius Group)(Regija)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Borenius Group, a leading law firm in Finland and the Baltic countries, has set up a joint venture with Lithuanian law firm Regija. Operating under the name Foigt and Partners/Regija Borenius from the first of September, Regija is one of the...

Phoenix appoints.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Phoenix Equity Partners has appointed Tim Dunn and Kathryn Purves to its investment team. Dunn joins from the London office of Monitor Clippec for The Kalchas Group, after his graduation from Oxford University. Before joining Phoenix,...

TVM promotions.(People)(Techno Venture Management )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Techno Venture Management has promoted Stefan Fischer to general partner in corporate finance, and Dr Annegret de Baey to principal in the life science team. Fischer joined TVM in September 2000 after three years as a consultant in the...

Lovells in Madrid.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Lovells is opening its Spanish practice in Madrid, to be led by Jose Maria Balana as managing partner. Balana is currently head of the corporate and mergers & acquisitions practice at Cuatrecasas' Madrid office. Lovells will open its Madrid...

Inflexion non-exec.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Inflexion has appointed Andrew Threadgold as a non-executive director. He was appointed to the reconstituted board of Equitable Life in 2001, having formerly been chief investment officer of AMP Ltd, and prior to that chief executive and...

3i appointments.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... 3i has appointed Sir Robert Smith, chairman of Weir Group, and Peter Mihatsch, a former Mannesmann executive, to its board.

Morgan steps down.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Jonathan Morgan has resigned as managing director of PPM Ventures but will remain with the company until the end of 2004. He will be succeeded by Neil MacDougall. MacDougall, who joined in 1989, and was appointed a director in 1995, is...

Actis appoints.(Alistair Mackintosh )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Alistair Mackintosh has joined emerging markets private equity investor Actis as a managing partner and chief investment officer from PPM Ventures. As a senior member of its management, Mackintosh was actively involved in the development of the...

New role at SG.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... SG Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB) has appointed Thierry de Vergnes to the newly created role of managing director of business development for leveraged finance. He will be based in London.

DLA expands team.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... DLA has appointed Andrew Harris to its private equity and corporate team from SJ Berwin where he was a senior equity partner. DLA has also recruited Addleshaws' private equity head, Darryl Cooke, to lead DLA's national private equity group...

Atlas promotes.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Atlas Venture has promoted Sonali De Rycker and Martin Gibson to partners. De Rycker focuses on investments in enterprise software and Internet-enabled businesses. Gibson concentrates on investments in semiconductors, storage and...

Silicon Valley in to London.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Silicon Valley Bank, the primary subsidiary of US-based Silicon Valley Bancshares, has opened an office in London. SVB Europe Advisors Limited is primarily targeting UK-based high growth technology companies with business services and access to...

Lovells Paris recruits.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Lovells has appointed Monique Sentilles-Dupont, a founding partner of French law firm Nomos, to its private equity team in Paris.

Paul Capital appoints.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Paul Capital Partners has appointed Elaine Small as managing director of its secondary private equity operations. Small has had 20 years of line and management experience in banking and finance, together with seven years of executive search...

Close Brothers reports 60% rise in tech M&As.(Data Room)(mergers and Acquisitions)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The opening half of 2004 has seen a 60% increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions in the technology sector compared to the first six months of 2003, according to research published by Close Brothers Corporate. A total of 127...

High hopes for French market.(Data Room)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Almost 1bn [euro] worth of exits have been made in the first half of 2004 in the French private equity market, almost double for the same period last year, according to figures released today by the French private equity and venture capital...

Finnish market enjoys growth.(Data Room)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Investments in Finnish private equity were up significantly for the first hall of the year with the total amount invested reaching 201m [euro] compared to 196m [euro] in the first half of 2003. The number of investments, however, was down from...

Anyone for hedge funds? There has been a lot of talk about the convergence of hedge funds and private equity. While many observers see the trend as a natural evolution, others question the benefits of bringing the two together. Angela Sormani takes a look at the attractions for investors.
October 1, 2004... Poor returns in the public equity and bond markets have forced fund managers to look to alternative assets. Investor interest in alternative investments has tended to focus on hedge funds rather than private equity because private equity...

Convergence: insolvency regimes in Europe's big three.(Legal and Regulatory Exchange)
October 1, 2004... This summer, rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) released three insolvency reports, each focused on the big three European economies: the UK, France and Germany. S&P argue the introduction of the Enterprise Act in Britain and legislation...

Spain: a year of transition.(Spain)
October 1, 2004... With the first private equity-backed public-to-private completed, and the first pan-European fund-of-funds targeted at Spanish investors, the Spanish private equity market is on its way to adulthood. The main issue with investors, however, are...

Competition? What competition? With the big fund raising splurge around the corner, placement agents are getting busier. Despite talk of a crowded and competitive market place, Tom Allchorne finds that there is more than enough work to go round.(Placement agents)
October 1, 2004... There always seems to be people moaning that various parts of the private equity market are overcrowded: there are too many PE houses, too many fund-of-funds, too many fund managers; and there are too many placement agents. This is usually...

Spotless performers: Joanna Gant looks at what private equity firms should be seeking from environmental due diligence consultants and provides a starting point for selecting the best practitioners for the job.(Environmental due diligence)
October 1, 2004... The relationship between private equity firms and environmental due diligence (EDD) consultants can, at times, be an uneasy one. As one EDD adviser notes grimly: "Often what the private equity firms want is a scapegoat. Someone who is cheap,...

Calendar.(Illustration)(Calendar)
October 1, 2004... 4 October Buying a Company London +44 20 7631 2090 www.redcliffetraining.co.uk 5 October Selling a Company London +44...

Seeking buyers September.(Seeking buyers)(Illustration)
October 1, 2004... Seeking buyers includes listings of all European companies that have announced plans since August 25, 2004 until September 21, 2004 to sell divisions, stakes or their entire company. It also includes purported sales efforts that have appeared...

Announced deals September.(Financial services)(Illustration)
October 1, 2004... Announced deals includes listings of private equity and venture capital transactions involving European targets that were announced from August 21, 2004 to September 17, 2004. The listings are ordered by target nation, and alphabetically within...

Biotech IPOs: US v Europe.(Overview)
October 1, 2004... The opening half of 2004 looked good for the European IPO market. The launch of Ark Therapeutics in March was the first biotech launch for four years and was quickly followed by a spate of others. Optimism began to seep into the market, but it...

Little ventured? Corporate venturing in Europe is a relatively new development. Some companies, principally from the US, have been investing over here for a number of years. But the tradition of larger companies investing in smaller companies developing new technologies is not yet embedded in the European corporate psyche.(Overview)
October 1, 2004... Nowhere is this more evident than in the biotechnology arena. It's certainly true that large companies, particularly big pharmaceutical groups, have historically struck classic out-licensing deals with biotech companies. There is also evidence...

Spotting diamonds in the rough: Kevin Johnson, Simon Brocklehurst & David Norton give their perspective on biotech startups.(Sponsored article: Ash Biotech)
October 1, 2004... The biotech industry shouldn't really exist. It came into being only because pharma companies were, at the time, unwilling to risk investing in novel and avant-garde genetic engineering technologies. It took early successes from companies like...

The importance of early stage investing for the European life science industry: Hanns-Peter Wiese, partner at Global Life Science Ventures, looks at the challenges.(Sponsored article: Global Life Science Ventures)
October 1, 2004... Europe has a strong tradition in life sciences. First-class universities and academic institutes, as well as excellence in scientific research, have resulted in many outstanding intellectual findings and practical benefits. A few of the...