19th Aug 2005 06:24
The information contained herein is not for publication or distribution topersons in the United States of America. Any securities referred to herein havenot been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, asamended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold withoutregistration thereunder or pursuant to an available exemption therefrom. Anyoffering of securities to be made in the United States would have to be made bymeans of an offering document that would be obtainable from the issuer or itsagents and would contain detailed information about the issuer of thesecurities and its management, as well as financial information. Neither thisdocument nor the information contained herein constitutes an offer to sell orthe solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. These materials do notconstitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States; the securitiesmay not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or anexemption from registration. No money, securities or other consideration isbeing solicited, and, if sent in response to the information contained herein,will not be accepted.For immediate release Friday 19th August, 2005 Candover sells stake in Gala and announces first close for the 2005 Fund Candover*, a leading European buyout specialist, announces a partialrealisation of its equity holding in Gala, the bingo and casino operator, in adeal which values the Group at ‚£1.89 billion. The transaction also includes arefinancing of the company's debt. Proceeds from this transaction and anearlier refinancing of the company crystallises a cash return to date of 1.3times the original investment.Under the terms of the transaction, Candover and its co-investor, Cinven, havesold an equal amount of equity to Funds advised by Permira. Permira will investapproximately ‚£200 million to become a joint and equal owner of Gala alongsideCandover and Cinven, who originally backed the ‚£1.24 billion buyout in March2003.Commenting on the transaction, Marek Gumienny, Managing Director of Candoversaid:"In the two years since we acquired Gala, the company's organic growth trackrecord, robust cashflows and further expansion into the casino market hasdelivered strong investment performance. This transaction, and a previousrefinancing, have allowed us to return more than our initial combinedinvestment to our investors whilst retaining a majority stake in the business."Separately, Candover announces that it has held the first closing of theCandover 2005 Fund, with commitments of ¢â€š¬2.3 billion representing more than 75%of the target size of ¢â€š¬3.0 billion. The fund was launched at the end of April,2005. More than 85% of the commitments to the first closing have come fromexisting investors. Candover Investments plc has committed ¢â€š¬400.0 million tothe Candover 2005 Fund under a co-investment agreement. Ends * Candover means Candover Investments plc and/or one or more of itssubsidiaries, including Candover Partners Limited as General Partner of theCandover 1994,1997 and 2001 FundsFor further information please contact:Candover:Marek Gumienny, Managing Director +44 (0) 20 7489 9848Gerard ConwayTulchan CommunicationsJulie Foster / Peter Hewer +44 (0) 20 7353 4200Note to Editors:Candover* is a leading provider of equity for large European buyouts. Since itsformation in 1980, it has invested in 124 buyouts worth over ¢â€š¬25.0 billion.Investment in deals by Candover is provided in two forms, from CandoverInvestments plc, a publicly quoted investment trust capitalised at around ‚£415.3 million, and from funds managed by Candover Partners, a wholly ownedsubsidiary.During the last 18 months Candover has realised almost ¢â€š¬2.0 billion from anumber of full and partial exits and several refinancings. This partialrealisation and recapitalisation of Gala follows other recent realisations fromthe Candover 2001 Fund including the IPO of Aspen, an earlier recapitalisationof Gala and the recapitalisations of Springer, Vetco and KDG. The Candover 2001Fund, which is currently 82% invested, will have realised over ¢â€š¬900.0 million,more than 40% of the amounts drawn down.The Candover Group has three offices in London, Paris and Dƒ¼sseldorf, and alocal advisor in Madrid. Candover Partners Limited is authorised and regulatedby the Financial Services Authority in the UK.www.candover.comCandover Partners Limited 20 Old Bailey London EC4M 7LN Telephone +44 (0)207489 9848 Fax +44 (0)20 7248 5483e-mail info@candover .com www.candover.com Authorised and regulated by theFinancial Services Authority.ENDCANDOVER INVESTMENTS PLCRelated Shares:
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