26th Apr 2011 12:18
News Release
Guernsey, 26 April 2011
Princess NAV increases by 1.0% in March; quarterly update conference call to be held on 27 April 2011
The net asset value (NAV) of Princess increased by 1.0% to EUR 8.63 per share during the month of March. The companies in Princess' portfolio continued their strong development of the past quarters with a positive impact of +2.6% on the NAV, with investments in the buyout segment particularly contributing to this favorable performance. Foreign exchange movements, however, had an adverse impact of 1.3% on the NAV due to the further appreciation of the euro against the US dollar during the past month.
Driven by a continued recovery of M&A markets and a healthy IPO environment, the month of March continued to be a strong month for realizations, with Princess receiving EUR 9.8 million in distributions from realized portfolio companies. Amongst others, Princess received a EUR 1.8 million distribution from the previously announced exit of Loyalty Partner, which generated a return of approximately 3x the original investment and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 25%. New investments during the month amounted to EUR 14.4 million, including the first new direct investment of EUR 5.6 million into the mezzanine tranche of the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG). NCIG is an Australian operator of a coal export terminal strategically located in the Port of Newcastle.
Urs Wietlisbach, member of Princess' Board of Directors and Executive Vice Chairman of Partners Group, the Investment Advisor, comments: "The Princess portfolio continues to see a high level of exit activity thanks to the substantial number of mature portfolio companies. As an example, Princess' largest portfolio company General Nutrition Centers, a US-based retailer of nutritional supplements, completed an IPO on 1 April 2011 after achieving strong revenue and earnings growth following Princess' investment in 2007. With respect to the redirection of the investment focus towards direct investments, we are pleased to report that we have now closed the first new direct investment in NCIG. We believe that this mezzanine investment is particularly attractive for Princess as it features an attractive risk/return profile and also further diversifies Princess' geographical portfolio allocation. We are confident that the focus on direct investments going forward should provide Princess with attractive investment opportunities on a global basis and this should in turn create further value for Princess' shareholders."
Princess will hold a conference call tomorrow, 27 April 2011, at 13.00pm BST to update interested parties on the recent developments of the Princess portfolio. The information announced will refer to unaudited figures as of 31 March 2011.
Date: Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Time: 13:00-13:45pm (Dublin, London)
14:00-14:45pm (Zurich, Frankfurt)
Phone number: +44 (0) 203 059 58 62 (from the UK)
+41 (0)91 610 5600 (from Continental Europe)
+1 (1) 866 291 4166 (from the US)
All lines will be open ten minutes prior to the beginning of the conference call.
The results presentation will be available at http://www.princess-privateequity.net/en/investor_relations/web_cast_live-events.php?ml ahead of the conference call.
Ends.
About Princess
Princess is an investment holding company founded in 1999 and domiciled in Guernsey. It invests, inter alia, in private equity and private debt investments. Princess is advised in its investment activities by Partners Group AG, a global private markets investment management firm with over EUR 20 billion in investment programs under management in private equity, private debt, private real estate and private infrastructure. Princess aims to provide shareholders with long-term capital growth and an attractive dividend yield. Princess is traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: PEY1) and on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: PEY). Further information: www.princess-privateequity.net
Contacts
Princess Private Equity Holding Limited:
www.princess-privateequity.net
Registered Number: 35241
Media enquiries:
Partners Group AG
Dr. Anna Hollmann
Communications
Tel.: +41 41 768 83 72
www.partnersgroup.com
This document does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities and neither is it intended to be an investment advertisement or sales instrument of Princess Private Equity Holding Limited. The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes must inform themselves about, and observe any such restrictions on the distribution of this document. In particular, this document and the information contained therein is not for distribution or publication, neither directly nor indirectly, in or into the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan.
This document may have been prepared using financial information contained in the books and records of the product described herein as of the reporting date. This information is believed to be accurate but has not been audited by any third party. This document may describe past performance, which may not be indicative of future results. No liability is accepted for any actions taken on the basis of the information provided in this document. Neither the contents of Princess' website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on Princess' website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
Related Shares:
Partners Grp E