AXA Private Equity sales its stake in Digiplug Paris, Thursday September 26, 2002

Though poor market conditions on Technologies, AXA Private Equity, main financial shareholder of Digiplug, successfully exit with a multiple performance of 3.7. This sale is a 100% share purchase transaction by Faith Inc. (Japanese company, Nikkei) of € 30 million in cash. It is the direct consequence of the high industrial synergies between the two companies.

« The management including Stephane Bohbot (CEO Digiplug) was of paramount importance and its quality was a keypoint in our investment choice and obviously during the final negotiations with the buyer » says Dominique Senequier, CEO AXA Private Equity.

AXA Private Equity invested as lead financial investor in Digiplug in October, 1999 and has actively supported the company so far. 3 FCPI (Fonds Communs de Placement dans l’Innovation) AXA Placement Innovation 1, 2 et 3 got involved in 3 other rounds to finance the growth of the company.

Were also shareholders of Digiplug: FCPIs and La Poste Innovation managed by Innoven Partenaires, Sopromec, and OTC Innovation 1 managed by OTC Asset Management.
The sellers’ advisors were:

• Lawyer: Cabinet Latham & Watkins, Paris, Olivier du Mottay and Christelle Fouchet
• Financial: KPMG Corporate Finance, Paris, Dominique Lecendreux and Bertrand Bussiere

About Faith Inc.

The mission of Faith, Inc. is to deliver content to users. Supporting business development for companies at each stage of the content distribution process, including telecommunications carriers, semiconductor and mobile phone vendors as well as content providers, Faith provides sound technologies and audio format technologies along with business solutions for content service planning, creation, and operation. Through alliances with companies in Japan and abroad, Faith helps to create new markets for content distribution business using mobile phones, PCs, game gear, and other platforms.
Web site: www.faith.co.jp
Faith Inc. has been listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange since September 12th, 2002.

About Digiplug

Digiplug specialises in the development, marketing and sales of wireless client and network software technology, which facilitates the seamless delivery of advanced audio and other media content such as polyphonic ringtones, logos and images to mobile users. The company’s current product offering includes embedded software solutions, implemented in wireless devices for ringtone storage and playback. DIGIPLUG also provides carrier-grade content distribution platforms to wireless operators, automating wireless multimedia content delivery via SMS and WAP, as well as associated billing and digital rights management. Digiplug’s current customers include some of the leading global vendors of wireless devices, such as Panasonic and Philips and some of the largest European wireless network operators including Orange and Vodafone. In addition, DIGIPLUG has an exclusive agreement with Universal Music, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal, for content distribution in Europe.
Web site: www.digiplug.com