19th Sep 2012 14:52
News Release
Guernsey, 19 September 2012
Completion of secondary sale to accelerate transition to direct investments
Princess Private Equity Holding Limited (Princess or the Company) announces the sale of a portfolio of mainly large cap buyout fund positions in the secondary market. The aim of the transaction is to accelerate the phased transition of the portfolio towards global direct investments.
A binding agreement has been signed for Princess to sell its interests in 17 North American and European buyout funds with vintages predominantly in the 2005-2007 range. The secondary sale was completed with a single third-party buyer at an aggregate discount of 4.95% to the valuation as of the transaction's cut-off date of 31 December 2011. The transaction will generate cash proceeds of approx. EUR 162.4 million and will also release Princess of EUR 27.1 million in unfunded commitments to third party funds as of 31 August 2012.
Princess plans to use the proceeds from the secondary sale to further accelerate the repositioning of its portfolio towards private equity and private debt direct investments, and to continue returning capital to its shareholders through share buybacks and semi-annual dividend payments. Proceeds from the secondary sale will be received in three equal installments. Princess will receive the first installment over the coming months, with the two subsequent installments expected 18 months and 36 months respectively following the transfer of each fund interest. This staggered payment structure was specifically designed to support Princess' ongoing efforts to complete attractive direct investments in a diversified and selective way across future vintage years. An investment focus for the Company in the short-term will be to increase its mezzanine direct investments.
The secondary sale will be reflected in the Company's net asset value (NAV) as of 31 August 2012, with the sold fund interests being revalued to reflect their agreed sales price. Furthermore, the proceeds from the second and third installments of the secondary sale will be valued on a discounted basis at their present value, until Princess receives the respective payments.
Brian Human, Chairman, comments: "The secondary sale at an attractive price for Princess will accelerate the ongoing transition of Princess' portfolio towards direct investments. The agreed payment structure of the transaction will also ensure continued portfolio diversification across vintage years going forward. We are confident that the accelerated transition of Princess' portfolio towards direct investments, together with the attractive dividend yield and the recently announced initiatives to simplify Princess' structure, should create further value for our shareholders."
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 25 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
Investor relations contact:
Jan-Frederik Modell
Phone: +44 (0)20 7575 2753
E-mail: [email protected]
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.
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