Translation (in part) of the official press release published by Ernst & Young and L’Entreprise on October 17, 2006

Created in France 14 years ago [by Ernst & Young] in partnership with the magazine L’Entreprise, the “Grand Prix de l’Entrepreneur” awards the manager of a growing enterprise of outstanding performance.

Selection Criteria:

• At least three years of existence
• A turn-over of more than €5 million
• At least 20% of sales growth over the last three years
• A profitability of more than 5% during the last year
• The manager of the enterprise must be in his function for at least 3 years and no group must exceed a stake of 50% in the company’s capital. The manager must also be shareholder of at least 10%.

From this selection onwards, the experts of Ernst & Young analyse the career of the manager, his strategic decisions, the financial performance, the international development, the investments in research and innovation as well as the growth perspectives of the company.

Emerging from a selection process throughout France, among 250 candidates 9 regional champions who constitute “L’Equipe de France des entrepreneurs” have also competed for the title of the Entrepreneur of the Year in France, of which Gilles Martin, Eurofins CEO, received the “Entrepreneur of the Year 2006” award.

As the championship of the Entrepreneurs 2006 of France is closed, the winners will take part in the worldwide competition “Entrepreneur of the Year”, a “world cup of entrepreneurs” in which the laureates of 40 countries will participate.

For further information please read the original press release under: http://www.eurofins.com/documents/investors/pressreleases/CPGPE2006.pdf or contact: