23rd Dec 2008 07:56
News Release
Guernsey, 23 December 2008
Princess partnership achieves 5x return on exit of Dutch internet retailer
Princess partnership Industri Kapital 2000 (IK) has sold Wehkamp, the market leader in online shopping in the Netherlands, realizing a return of approximately five times on its investment. IK acquired Wehkamp in January 2006 with the plan to further grow and develop the business, capitalizing on IK's experience in the home shopping market. At the time of IK's investment, Wehkamp's sales were in decline; however, with the introduction of IK's growth plan, this was turned into a growth rate of over 5% per annum with operating profits doubling. As the business is driven by the strong growth in online retailing, Wehkamp has grown into the largest and most highly rated online retailer in the Netherlands.
Sandra Pajarola, Partner at Princess' investment advisor Partners Group, comments: "IKs highly successful exit of Wehkamp is another prime example of the fact that although the current market conditions are persistently unstable, exits generating excellent returns are still possible. IK's ability to transform Wehkamp into the leading online retailer demonstrates once again the high quality of the Princess partnerships that are able to accelerate growth and implement structural operational improvements in their portfolio companies."
About Princess
Princess is an investment holding company founded in 1999 and domiciled in Guernsey that invests in private equity and private debt investments. The Company is advised in its investment activities by Partners Group AG, a global alternative asset management firm listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: PGHN) with over CHF 25 billion assets under management in private equity, private debt, private real estate, private infrastructure, absolute return strategies and listed alternatives. 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. Cyrill Wipfli
Head Communications
Tel.: +41 41 768 85 71
www.partnersgroup.net
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.
Approved by Partners Group (UK) Ltd., authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom.
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