BDA advises CSLi on acquisition of controlling stake in Systran S.A.

Business Development Asia (“BDA”) is pleased to announce that its client CSLi Co, Ltd (“CSLi”), has acquired a 38.04% stake in Systran SA (“Systran”). CSLi is a Korean provider of language translation software best known for its S-Translator, a translator application embedded on the Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5 smartphones. Systran is listed on EuroNext Paris, and develops and manufactures computer-aided translation software.

On December 20th, 2013, CSLi entered into a definitive agreement with Systran’s management and principal shareholders for the acquisition of a 38.04% stake in Systran, priced at €5 per share. Subsequently, in March 2014, CSLi obtained regulatory approval from the French Ministry of Economy and Finance (“MINEFI”) and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) for the acquisition.

The acquisition marks the first-ever takeover of a French publicly traded company by a Korean company. Prior to the completion of the acquisition, CSLi successfully raised capital from a group of financial investors, including STIC Investments, Softbank Ventures Korea, and Korea Investment Partners, to fund the acquisition.

CSLi, having completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Systran, is in the process of filing a tender offer for all of the remaining shares of Systran at the same price of €5 per share. The tender offer will remain subject to the control of the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (“AMF”).

BDA and Aforge Degroof jointly acted as financial advisors to CSLi. BDA has led the strategic and M&A aspects of the transaction, and Aforge Degroof has handled the French public market aspects, liaising with the AMF and acting as presenting bank. CSLi was advised by Herbert Smith Freehills on legal matters.

About CSLi Co Ltd
CSLi was established in 1995 and headquartered in Seoul, Korea. CSLi is a leading provider of language translation software and services. CSLi has a dominant market position in the Korean translation market; it provides translation solutions and services, including document translation and automatic web translation to corporations, government agencies and individuals. www.csli.co.kr

About Systran S.A.
Systran is headquartered in Paris, France and traded on the EuroNext Paris exchange. Systran develops and markets a line of software products and solutions for businesses and individuals, as well as a range of professional services. Systran has been a pioneer in the machine translation industry for over four decades. www.systransoft.com

About BDA
Business Development Asia LLC (“BDA”) is a leader in cross-border investment banking. BDA advises on M&A, capital raising, and restructuring. BDA has been consistently owned and managed by the same team since 1996. BDA has a track record of providing independent advice to blue-chip corporate and financial sponsor clients from North America, Europe and Asia. BDA was named M&A Advisory Firm of the Year at The ACG Champion’s Awards in 2014. BDA is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Bahrain, Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo. BDA formed a partnership with William Blair & Company in 2011. BDA carries out its US securities business through BDA Advisors Inc., a broker-dealer registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member of FINRA and SIPC. www.bdapartners.com

For more information regarding this transaction, please contact Heejun Yang in Seoul at +82 2 735 4211.