21st May 2013 15:42
News Release
Guernsey, 21 May 2013
Princess reports April 2013 NAV
The net asset value (NAV) of Princess Private Equity Holding Limited (Princess) fell 0.6% in April, to close the month at EUR 8.50 per share. Although operational improvements in underlying companies continued to positively impact performance over the month (+0.2%), negative currency movements more than offset these gains (-0.7%), as the euro strengthened significantly versus the US dollar, weighing on US dollar denominated returns from the portfolio's US investments.
The dollar decline was precipitated by weaker than expected US employment data, which fueled speculation of a growth slowdown in the world's largest economy, and heightened sentiment that the Federal Reserve will maintain its current stimulus policy.
In April, Princess' net liquidity position was further strengthened by positive cash flows, as distributions (+EUR 4.7 million) continued to significantly outpace new third party investments (-EUR 0.6 million). The Company's mature portfolio generated healthy distributions over the month, after partially exiting third-party fund investments Fairway Group, the US food retailer, and Magellan, the Polish healthcare financial institution.
During the month, Fairway Group, a portfolio company of Sterling Investment Partners II, completed its IPO on the NASDAQ, giving the company an initial market capitalization of USD 536 million. Sterling still holds a stake in the company which has continued to trade well post IPO. Furthermore, Polish Enterprise Fund IV, L.P. partially exited Magellan in April via a secondary share sale on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, returning 10x cost. The shares were sold at PLN 52 each, a sizable increase on the PLN 42 per share achieved at the 2007 IPO and near the stock's 52-week high of PLN 54. During the month, Polish Enterprise Fund IV, L.P. also exited Kruk S.A., the Polish loss prevention and debt collection service provider, at a multiple of 9x cost.
Looking forward, Princess expects investment activity to pick up over the next few months, as a number of new direct investment opportunities are currently in the final stages of due diligence.
During May, Princess declared a first interim dividend of EUR 0.26 per share for the 2013 calendar year. This translated into a dividend yield of 6.0% on the NAV per share as of 31 March 2013, consistent with the Company's commitment to pay semi-annual payments of 5-8% p.a. on opening NAV. The dividend will be paid on 26 June 2013, with the relevant date for the entitlement to the dividend (record date), and the corresponding ex-dividend date falling on 24 May 2013 and 22 May 2013 respectively.
Further information is available in the monthly report which can be accessed via:
http://www.princess-privateequity.net/financialreports.
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 28 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 London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: PEY). Further information: www.princess-privateequity.net
Princess Private Equity Holding Limited:
www.princess-privateequity.net
Registered Number: 35241
Investor relations contact
George Crowe
Phone: +44 (0)20 7575 2771
E-mail: [email protected]
Media relations contact
Partners Group AG
Dr. Anna Hollmann
Phone: +41 41 784 63 72
E-mail: [email protected]
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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