Press Releases

Exhibition outline of World Smart Energy Week 20121950 Exhibitors (2011: 1,562 exhibitors)120,000 industry experts from 80 countries will be visiting246 Technical Conferences and Seminars

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Reed Exhibitions Japan will be organising Japan's largest PV exhibition 'PV EXPO' at the end of this month. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, the nation's concern against nuclear energy is on the rise. As the new feed-in tariff policy goes into effect in July 2012, business opportunities for photovoltaic energy are expected to boost in Japan.Therefore, now is the window of opportunity to fly into Japan and visit PV EXPO 2012, where many of the top Japanese companies such as Sharp, Kyocera, Panasonic, Mitsubishi Electric, Solar Frontier will be open for serious business.

The total number of exhibitors and exhibition space for PV EXPO 2012 and overall World Smart Energy Week 2012 has overtaken last year's numbers. The show is also becoming increasingly international as the range of countries being involved is expanding.From the Asian sector: Yingli Green Energy, Trina Solar, Gintech Energy Corporation, AU OPTRONICS, Neo Solar Power will be exhibiting and many other international companies like SUNPOWER and ISOFOTON will also be joining the show.

Please access the URL below for details and list of exhibitors and their products.(List of exhibitors) https://www.r-expo.jp/mar2012/exhiSearch/FC/en/exhibitor_list.php(e-Guidebook) https://www.r-expo.jp/mar2012/exhiSearch/FC/en/(e-guidebook for press) http://www.r-expo.jp/mar2012/exhiSearch/FC/en/press.php

Furthermore, industry big name Dr. Zhengrong Shi Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Suntech Power Holdings is expected to make an appearance. He will be one of the members attending the ribbon cutting ceremony at the opening of the show. We are currently in the final stage of confirming members attending the ceremony so keep a close eye on our official show website for more information. http://www.pvexpo.jp/en/

Concurrent shows

The beauty of World Smart Energy Week 2012 is the fact that it is a collective gathering of renewable energy exhibitions. Take your time and visit concurrent exhibitions to search for products and business partnership that is sure to match your business needs. www.wsew.jp/en/

For more information please contact:World Smart Energy Week Show ManagementReed Exhibitions JapanEna MASUI, +81-3-3349-8501masuie@reedexpo.co.jpFAX: +81-3-3349-8535www.wsew.jp/en/

Source: World Smart Energy Week Show Management

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Sopra Group (Paris:SOP)(NYSE Euronext: SOP) announced today two proposed acquisitions which will significantly boost its presence in the United Kingdom. These transactions are expected to close during the first quarter 2012, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Under the proposed deals, Tieto Corporation’s UK financial services product business and the UK subsidiary of Business & Decision would join Sopra Group.

Both companies would be integrated as soon as possible within Sopra Group’s UK subsidiary, which generated revenue of approximately €58 million for financial year 2011.

On completion of the transactions, the new entity will offer its UK clients a wide array of know-how, services and solutions, ranging from innovative service delivery in targeted vertical segments to the distribution of solutions for the financial services sector. These transactions will also enhance the Group’s capacity to provide services on an international scale.

Further information about Tieto’s “Financial Services UK”

Tieto’s UK financial services product business provides mortgage, savings, credit, asset finance and debt collection systems to UK organisations including banks, building societies, consumer and corporate finance companies and debt recovery agencies in the UK and parts of Europe. It generated revenue of approximately €22 million in financial year 2011.

Further information about Business & Decision UK

Business & Decision’s UK subsidiary provides consulting and IT services, including business intelligence (BI), customer relationship management (CRM) and e-business for clients in the financial services, retail, public sector and transport verticals, among others. It generated revenue of approximately €26 million in financial year 2011.

Strategy

These transactions are perfectly in line with the Group’s announced strategy of reinforcing positioning in Europe and better aligning its European subsidiaries’ business models with the operational business model in place in France (consulting, IT services, software development) in order to capitalise on synergies and Group know-how. Moreover, for employees of all three companies, it will create exciting career opportunities during a transformative period in the information technology sector.

Financial information

Sopra Group expects these transactions to be accretive. Given the highly complementary nature of the businesses, the Group anticipates synergies through both revenue growth and cost savings.

On a pro forma basis, Sopra Group’s UK subsidiary would have generated revenue of around €106 million in 2011.

The proposed transactions have been approved by Sopra Group’s Board of Directors as well as by Tieto’s and Business & Decision’s respective Boards. The transactions are subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions and are expected to close during the first quarter 2012.

Sopra Group will fund the transactions through its existing lines of credit. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

International Conference / Webcast Information

Further information will be provided during Sopra Group’s annual results presentation planned for February 16th at 15:30 p.m. CET. This meeting, which will be held in French, is open to all interested parties and will take place at the Hotel Meurice, 228 rue de Rivoli, Paris. A replay of the meeting, as well as an English translation, will be available at www.finance.sopragroup.com for those unable to attend the live session.

Disclaimer

This document is a free translation into English of the original French press release. It is not a binding document. In the event of a conflict in interpretation, reference should be made to the French version, which is the authentic text.

The forecasts in this document are contingent upon risks and uncertainties as to the Group’s future growth and profitability. Readers are reminded that licence agreements, which often represent investments for our clients, are more significant in the second half of the year, and may therefore have a more or less favourable impact on full-year performance.

The outcome of events or actual results may differ from those described in this document as a result of various risks and uncertainties set out in the 2010 Reference Document submitted to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers on 8 April 2011 (in particular pages 54 and following).

About Sopra Group

A leader in the European consulting, IT services and software development markets, Sopra Group generated revenue of 1.17 billion euros in 2010 and employs over 13,000 people. Thanks to a longstanding culture of excellence and strong sector-specific, functional and technological know-how, the Group offers its clients an end to end approach based on a well-honed business model. Sopra Group’s ambition is to allow its clients to successfully execute transformation projects that will give them a competitive edge and help them drive growth. Sopra Group’s savoir-faire encompasses prior strategic reflection through to the supervision and implementation of major programmes. For more information, please visit our website www.sopragroup.com.

Relations Investisseurs :Kathleen Clark Bracco, +33 (0)1 40 67 29 61kbraccoclark@sopragroup.comorRelations Presse :Virginie Legoupil, +33 (0)1 40 67 29 41vlegoupil@sopragroup.comorImage Sept :Claire Doligez, +33 (0)1 53 70 74 48cdoligez@image7.fr

Source: Sopra Group

Firm enhances market position as “go to” firm for complex, multi-jurisdictional litigation and arbitration matters

BOSTON & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Brown Rudnick, an international law firm with offices in the US and Europe, today announced that a highly regarded international litigation and arbitration team has joined the Firm’s London office. The group is led by dual qualified partner Nicholas Tse, an English barrister & French Avocat, who is also joined by two senior & one mid-level associates, and a supporting team of trainees/stagiaires. Before moving to Brown Rudnick, Nicholas founded and led the International Dispute Resolution team at top French international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel’s London office.

Nicholas said of his move: “I have spent eleven fruitful years at Gide in Paris and London, working on multi-jurisdictional disputes and serving clients from the US, England, France, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, but am greatly looking forward to this exciting new challenge. Together with the talent, energy and experience of the international litigation team that Brown Rudnick has assembled in the US and London, I believe that we will be a go-to firm for handling major multi-jurisdictional disputes, in arbitration and before State courts, both in England and in foreign jurisdictions such as Paris, the DIFC Court in Dubai, and across the Middle East and Africa.”

An experienced advocate with a diverse client base of multinationals, governments, & financial institutions, Nicholas’ practice focuses on international arbitration and litigation.

He specializes in resolving international commercial disputes with a multi-jurisdictional flavor. He has been involved in a number of notable cases in the English Courts, including the successful application for an Article 28 Stay under the Judgments Regulation (44/2001) in Masri v CCIC & others [2011] EWHC 1780 (Comm):http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2011/1780.html.

In addition to his experience in English courts, Nicholas has developed a track record trying cases in offshore jurisdictions such as Bermuda, the BVI, Cayman, Jersey and the Dubai International Financial Centre Court. Nicholas also has experience in arbitrating international commercial disputes in London, Paris, Geneva and Dubai. He currently serves as counsel in a number of ongoing international arbitrations. Fluent in both French and English, Nicholas was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1995, and has since added the Paris Bar, the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and as an advocate at the Dubai International Financial Centre Court.

Nicholas and his team are currently active in a number of complex international arbitrations before ICC, LCIA, and LMAA tribunals, and in notable litigation before the DIFC Courts (see CFI 14/ 20101 & CA001/20112) and before the Dubai World Tribunal (DWT 0007/2010).

The team will work closely with Neil Micklethwaite, head of Brown Rudnick’s Litigation & Arbitration Practice Group in London.

According to Brown Rudnick’s CEO Joseph F. Ryan, “Nicholas and his team are a great fit for our London office given their collegial nature, entrepreneurial mindset, strong legal skills and outreach to many emerging markets we are already targeting. Nicholas will help us extend our brand by building, together with our existing team, a strong international litigation and arbitration practice based in London."

The addition of this team is in keeping with Brown Rudnick’s strategic growth plan for the London market, and the Firm expects to continue to attract top legal talent in that region. In recent months, Brown Rudnick has added six partners and six associates to the London office, in areas such as restructuring, finance, M&A and fund formation, which are critical to building on the Firm’s core strength in servicing hedge, venture and private equity fund clients and their portfolio companies. Massimo Galli, a corporate lawyer with extensive equity and debt capital market experience in both the US and Europe (in particular Italy) arrived from White & Case, and Nick Terras, a high-profile funds and structured products lawyer arrived from Ashurst. Former Chadbourne & Parke partners Adrian Harris and Alper Deniz joined the Firm’s International Restructuring Group and Finance Group, respectively. The Firm also added Bernard McEvoy, a senior Irish corporate lawyer, and Georgie Collins, the former Head of Intellectual Property & Media at Lawrence Graham LLP, to the growing corporate and IP practices.

About Brown Rudnick LLP

Brown Rudnick is an AmLaw 200 firm with offices in the United States and Europe. With relentless focus on the client’s objectives, the Firm represents clients from around the world in high stakes litigation and business transactions. Our clients include public and private corporations, multinational Fortune 100 businesses and start-up enterprises. We also represent investors, as well as official and ad hoc creditors committees in today’s largest corporate restructurings, both domestically and abroad. The Brown Rudnick Center for the Public interest is an innovative model combining the Firm’s pro bono, charitable giving and community volunteer efforts. For more information, please visit www.brownrudnick.com.

1 http://difccourts.complinet.com/en/display/display_main.html?rbid=2725&element_id=4458

2 http://difccourts.complinet.com/en/display/display_main.html?rbid=2725&element_id=4518

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Brown RudnickLisa Murray, 617-856-8509lmurray@brownrudnick.com

Source: Brown Rudnick