Piriou Group opens its capital to AXA Private Equity and JACCAR Paris, 8th June 2006.

In its ongoing effort to further its successful expansion, notably overseas, the Piriou Group - a well-known player in the ship building and maintenance industry – has invited AXA Private Equity and JACCAR into its capital.

Founded in 1964 by Guy and Michel Piriou, the group is currently run by second generation family members who are actively developing the group and who will retain about 20% of the capital. AXA Private Equity and JACCAR will share equally between them the remaining share capital of the Group.

The Piriou Group’s activities cover several domains:

• Ship engineering in which the company is an expert in designing offshore ships and crewboats to support offshore oil rigs, fishing boats and tugs,
• Shipbuilding with construction sites in Concarneau (France), Mauritius and Nigeria for the building of 20-100 meter long ships,
• Ship maintenance for ships less than 100 meters long.

In 2005, the Group had revenues of 76 million euros and 500 employees. The Piriou Group has enjoyed 10% annual growth since 1996, thanks to its ability to position itself on niche markets with high-growth potential.

The entry of AXA Private Equity and JACCAR will reinforce Piriou’s capital structure and will enable the Group to develop its activities thanks to its new investors. The Piriou Group intends to continue its growth in ship maintenance, to develop its engineering activity and to expand its ship building capacity in France and abroad.

«We are delighted to continue this adventure with AXA Private Equity and JACCAR » declared Pascal, Jacques and Eric Piriou. « The support of these financial partners comes at a key point in time for the Group and will enable us to continue with our long-term expansion strategy of focusing on high return and fast growing niche markets, particularly abroad. »

Baudouin d’Hérouville and Arnaud Dufer, Investment Directors with AXA Private Equity, underline « their satisfaction in being associated with an excellent Management team that has vision as well as a very clear cut development plan. They can count on all our support to implement their plan.»

List of participants and advisors on the Piriou transaction:

Buyers:

AXA Private Equity: Baudouin d’Hérouville, Arnaud Dufer
JACCAR: Jacques de Chateauvieux, André Loesekrug-Pietri

Advisers to AXA Private Equity and to JACCAR:

• Legal, social: Nomos (Jean-François Pourdieu)
• Accounting, financial: Ernst & Young (Emmanuel Picard, Grégoire Briens)
• Tax: Ernst & Young (Jean-Laurent Anglade)
• Insurance: Assurances Saint-Honoré (Jean-Noël Delabrousse-Mayoux, Jean-Etienne Quintin)
• Environment: KCE Environnement (Rachid Karimi)

Sellers:

Advisers to the sellers:

• M&A: Estin & Co (Jean Estin, Christophe Moret, Laurent Carme)
• Legal: LCE -  Les Conseils d’Entreprise (André Cocoual, James Brentot)

About JACCAR:

JACCAR is Jacques de Chateauvieux’s holding company. Main shareholder in the listed companies BOURBON (Oil & Gas Services) and CBo Territoria (Real Estate), JACCAR actively invests in minority and majority stakes in Europe, Asia and the Indian Ocean. JACCAR also sponsors and manages a Private Equity Fund focused on Vietnam and China

Media Contact:

Piriou:
Pascal Piriou: +33 (0)2 98 97 09 48
p.piriou@piriou.fr

AXA Private Equity:
+33 (0)144 45 92 20

JACCAR:
Claire de Chateauvieux: +33 (0)6 32 44 73 31
com@jaccar.net