Third annual pan-European "Best of European Business" awards presented in Brussels

• Portuguese energy leader, GalpEnergia wins in the "Growth" category
• Global insurance giant AXA and leading oil refiner/petrol retailer PKN Orlen from Poland win the "Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions" prizes
• BASF is recognized with a special "Green Business" award for commitment to environmentally sustainable technologies
• CNN is the international media partner to the BEB awards in Brussels

This year, the leading energy company on the Iberian peninsula, a global insurance player and one of Europe's largest petrol retailers were selected as winners by the jury.

The awards were presented in the context of the two-day European Business Summit (EBS), the premier conference for business and politics in the European capital, of which Roland Berger Strategy Consultants is the strategic partner. International news broadcaster, CNN, is the official media partner of the BEB competition.

Launched by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in 2005, the "Best of European Business" initiative examines business performance by European companies in different categories each year. Over nine months, Roland Berger's team of experts rated more than 6,000 companies across Europe's largest economies based on publicly available data and specialized indices. An international, jury selected the winners from each country. National awards presentations were held in late 2007 and the first few months of 2008.

All winners of previous national competitions were nominated for the pan-European prizes in Brussels.

GalpEnergia wins in the "Growth" category

To determine the winner in the "Growth" category, the jury studied companies' business performance and examined their business strategy, in context of their overall revenue figures. Portugal's leading integrated oil and natural gas company, GalpEnergia, was selected by the jury based on its annual double-digit growth of 15.3% between 2002 and 2006. It had shown strong innovative capabilities with its exploration of new production areas in Angola and Brazil, the jury said in its verdict. In addition, it highlighted the successful integration of AGIP into the company in Spain.

AXA and PKN Orlen win prizes for 'Cross-border M&A'

The evaluation of company performance in the "Cross-border M&A" category was based on an assessment of actual value created through the merger or buy-up, as measured by the Abnormal Stock Return, i.e. the difference between the actual development of a stock following the announcement of a deal and its assumed development, without the merger.

AXA, one of Europe's major insurance providers, was lauded by the jury for its acquisition of Swiss competitor Winterthur in 2006. The purchase had given AXA access to the lucrative Swiss market and created product complementarities that extended AXA's global reach, allowing it to specialize further and increase its presence on the world insurance market by 20%. The jury was impressed by the EUR 8 billion size of the acquisition and its strategic contribution to reinforcing AXA's position in Switzerland, and in Western and Eastern European core markets. The purchase created synergy potential to the amount of EUR 350 million.

PKN Orlen, a major European oil refiner, and petrol retailer was chosen as a further winner in this category. Its commitment to growth through key acquisitions is highlighted by the fact that it had won in this BEB category twice before, in 2006 and 2007. The company operates a wide network of retail outlets in its country of origin, the Czech Republic, Germany, and the Baltic States. In May of 2006 PKN Orlen announced its largest take-over to date, purchasing the majority share of Lithuania's Mažeikių Nafta, the largest company in the Baltic States, from Yukos. The transaction value of USD 2.78 billion was the biggest Polish foreign investment.
The jury praised PKN Orlen's acquisition strategy and integration capacity in its verdict. The latest buy-up and the acquisition of Unipetrol in 2005, had demonstrated PKN Orlen's commitment to its company strategy, aimed toward expanding regionally and bolstering the company's market position.

BASF honored with "Green Business" award

In addition to prizes in the two categories, BASF received a special award for exceptional commitment to mainstreaming environmental technologies into its business and developing new opportunities through the use of green' energy.

BASF was selected for its outstanding commitment to environmentally sustainable production. Around 30% of its R&D budget is invested into developing mechanisms that allow for a more energy and natural resource efficient production, and toward developing technology for materials and energy resources of the future. It was the first company in Germany to join the "Community Development Carbon Fund" (CDCF) sponsored by the World Bank, which supports projects in the reduction of emissions in developing countries.

The company won the "Best of European Business" award in the "Mergers and Acquisition" category in Germany for its latest purchase of US catalyst producer Engelhard. The jury felt that this move further enhanced BASF's commitment to actively reducing CO2 emissions the world over.

Partnership with the EBS

The Brussels awards ceremony is part of the two-day European Business Summit (EBS), which brings together more than 2,500 leaders from the world of politics and business to debate key topics for European businesses. This year's focus is the future of Europe's "green' economy". Roland Berger Strategy Consultants serves as the strategic partner to the EBS for the second time since 2007. Participants include ENEL CEO, Fulvio Conti, European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso and business expert and analyst, Jeremy Rifkin.