Valeo Innovative Entrepreneur Fund Invests in Parrot

26 April 2000

Valeo Innovative Entrepreneur Fund Invests in Parrot

    PARIS--April 26, 2000--The Valeo Innovative Entrepreneur Fund today announced its first investment to support the development of a start-up company. The start-up, Parrot, specializes in voice recognition electronics for passenger vehicle mobile telephone applications. Parrot products are currently sold on the automotive market.
    Valeo has agreed to subscribe to a capital increase offered by Parrot, to the amount of four million euros. The Valeo Innovative Entrepreneur Fund's stake in the company will amount to 12.5%.
    Parrot achieved sales of two million euros in 1999 with a workforce of 15 people. The company won the "Grand Prix de l'Innovation 1999" telecommunications award for its voice recognition kit.
    Commenting on the agreement, Noel Goutard, Chairman & CEO of Valeo, stated, "I am very pleased that the Valeo Innovative Entrepreneur Fund's first investment is in Parrot, for this start-up has some remarkable voice recognition development projects, with highly innovative applications for the automotive industry. This investment fits in perfectly with the Fund's strategy."
    Henri Seydoux, Chairman of Parrot, added, "Our association with Valeo will enable Parrot to develop its automotive telephone voice recognition market faster, together with its offer based on Bluetooth technology."
    Valeo announced the establishment of the Valeo Innovative Entrepreneur Fund on January 31, 2000. The 100 million euro fund was established to invest in high-growth businesses in the automotive sector.
    Valeo is an independent industrial Group fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for cars and trucks, and ranks among the world's top automotive suppliers. The Group achieved sales of 7.7 billion euros in 1999. It has 118 plants, 39 R&D centers, 10 distribution centers and employs 51,700 people in 20 countries worldwide.

For more information on the Group and its businesses, please consult our Web site: www.valeo.com