Oxatis, raises €4 million from Crédit Agricole Private Equity and A Plus Finance

For immediate release – October 8, 2010

Barely two years after its first funding round in May 2008, Oxatis, European leader in e-commerce solutions, has raised a further €4 million. Crédit Agricole Private Equity will provide €2.5 million and A Plus Finance, the company’s historical investor, €1.5 million.

The new capital will give Oxatis the resources to progress its platform concept and extend its offering to other complementary businesses within its ecosystem.

Founded in 2001 and based in Marseille, Oxatis has developed a SaaS e-commerce platform for entrepreneurs and small businesses. It provides a comprehensive offering covering all the  ervices required to set up and operate a merchant web site, including online software, shopping basket, hosting, secure payment, order management, inventory management, domain names and links with the main market players.

Its share of the e-commerce market is increasing continuously. One third of all merchant sites created in France each month use its platform. In 2010, the aggregate combined revenue of Oxatis’ customers is about €200 million. By the end of 2010, almost two French people in ten will have made purchases from an online store created on the Oxatis platform.

Oxatis operates in the French-speaking countries of Europe, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Marc Schillaci, Chairman of the Executive Board of Oxatis, commented: “Two years ago, after the first funding round, staff numbers tripled in the space of a year. Today, Oxatis intends to bolster its teams massively, from 40 to more than 100 people within a fairly short space of time.”

Renaud Poulard, Partner of Crédit Agricole Private Equity’s venture capital team, commented: “Thanks to Oxatis, e-commerce is becoming much more widespread in France enabling more and more French people to set up their own business. We were very impressed with the Oxatis solution, which is both simple to use and offers a very broad choice of e-commerce functionalities. We were convinced by the robustness of its business model and took a quick decision to support their expansion and back this success story. We are fully confident that the Oxatis management team will succeed in strengthening its positions and expanding into other markets, particularly in southern Europe.”

Niels Court-Payen, Chairman of A Plus Finance, added: “Since our first investment two years ago, Oxatis has succeeded in increasing its revenue every month, an altogether exceptional performance in the current economic environment. This strong growth and the company’s promising prospects naturally encouraged us to strengthen our commitment.”

Crédit Agricole Private Equity Representatives
Renaud Poulard, Partner, Venture Capital, Crédit Agricole Private Equity
François Xavier Dedde, Associate, Venture Capital, Crédit Agricole Private Equity

A Plus Finance Representatives
Niels Court-Payen, Jean-Michel Pimont, Alexandre Villet

Auditors
Ernst & Young – Emmanuel Picard, François Poncet

Oxatis’ lawyers
Kahn & Associés – Marie-Laure de Cordovez

Investors’ lawyers
Gide Loyrette Nouel – Pierre Karpik

Oxatis’ advisers
Global Equities – Pascal Mercier, Guillaume Teboul

About Crédit Agricole Private Equity

Crédit Agricole Private Equity is an AMF-accredited asset-management subsidiary of Crédit Agricole, specialising in direct private-equity investment in non-listed companies.
A multi-specialist player, Crédit Agricole Private Equity’s team of 95 professionals manages €3 billion with specific expertise in LBO & Expansion, Venture Capital, Mezzanine, Co-Investment, Renewable Energy and PPP Infrastructure.
The 12-strong venture capital team manages €430 million through FCPIs invested in young companies with high growth potential in 2 sectors: information technology and life sciences.
Crédit Agricole Private Equity has signed up to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). www-rec.omnescapital.com

About A+ Finance

Founded in 1998, A Plus Finance is an independent asset management company specialising in private equity and multi-manager investments. For more than 10 years, it has managed FCPI private equity mutual funds, FIP investment funds and three funds-of-funds. A Plus Finance covers all innovative sectors, primarily in the areas of information technology, e-commerce and sustainable development. Its team is made up of financiers and entrepreneurs who provide a cross-view of the investment selection and management, with the continuing aim of creating performance for the client. Since 2008, A Plus Finance has also set up a film financing business via SOFICA companies with a dedicated team. In 2010, it began to develop OPCI property funds targeted at institutional investors. A Plus Finance currently has assets under management of over €275 million.

About Oxatis

Founded in 2001 by Marc Schillaci, a pioneer in e-commerce in France, Oxatis is Europe’s leading ecommerce platform with 6,500 confirmed customers. Oxatis’s innovative offering is based on cloud computing. By offering a powerful and exclusive technology, it allows for a business-led approach for SMEs and very small enterprises integrating e-commerce software, hosting, unlimited technical support and support programmes to succeed, even without technical know-how, with no set-up costs or long-term commitments. Oxatis’s Start&GO enables very small enterprises, craftsmen, traders and entrepreneurs to create and manage their own e-commerce sites. In 2009, Oxatis expanded its range of services for SMEs via its network of certified resellers, who benefit from tailored offerings with Oxatis Open Enterprise. Oxatis is also present in French-speaking countries, Spain, Italy, the UK and Canada.
One in three e-commerce websites in France uses the Oxatis platform. In 2010, its clients’ cumulative revenues amounted to €200 million. Oxatis has 40 employees.
Oxatis is the only SME in France to partner the government’s “Passeport pour l’Economie numérique” (“Passport for the digital economy”) programme. It is also a member of ACSEL, ADEN, Croissance Plus, EBG and FEVAD. www.oxatis.fr

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