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Press release - 23 March 2005

CapMan acquires Norwegian poultry and egg producers


Funds managed/advised by CapMan have agreed to acquire the Norwegian companies Norsk Kylling AS and Arne Magnussen AS, the second largest suppliers of poultry products and eggs in the Norwegian market. The acquisition will be conducted through a new holding company named Cardinal AS, which will acquire 100% of the shares of the companies. After the transaction CapMan funds will own 67% of the shares in Cardinal, while current owners of the companies will hold the remaining shares.

Cardinal’s estimated revenue in 2005 is around NOK 500 million (EUR 62 million), making it the clear number two supplier in the Norwegian market after the farmers’ cooperative company Prior. The Cardinal companies have a strong history of profitable growth, based on efficient low cost operation and high quality products.

Norwegian per capita consumption of poultry products is substantially lower than in the rest of Europe, and is growing at around 7 percent annually. The Cardinal companies have steadily taken market share in the Norwegian market. This, combined with the underlying market growth, provides the platform for continued strong organic growth of Cardinal.

- We are impressed with the historic performance of the companies, says Kai Jordahl, Senior Partner at CapMan Buyout. We see a number of opportunities to continue the strong development, and will look at both organic growth opportunities as well as potential add-on acquisitions. CapMan’s intention is to provide additional funding to support such development, continues Jordahl. The combination of the two companies is strengthening the competitiveness in the market, and will have positive effects for both customers and Cardinal.

- CapMan enables us to expand further, providing capital, ownership and resources for continued growth, says Agnar Østhus, founder and CEO of Norsk Kylling. We are especially exited about the opportunities we see on a Nordic basis. With CapMan’s strong presence in all the Nordic countries they will be an excellent support for our international ambitions. We had discussions with several potential investors, but ended up cooperating with CapMan due to their industrial hands on approach and their strong Nordic position, continues Østhus.


For further information please contact:
Mr Kai Jordahl, Senior Partner, CapMan, tel. +47 23 23 75 71
Mr Agnar Østhus, CEO, Norsk Kylling AS, tel. +47 95 73 33 48
Mr Rune Hennum, CEO, Arne Magnussen AS, tel. + 47 23 17 34 10


CapMan Group
CapMan is one of the leading private equity investors in the Nordic countries and specializes in middle market buyouts in various industry sectors, technology investments in the IT and telecommunications sectors and investments in life science companies. The CapMan team comprises around 80 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo. CapMan manages/advises Nordic funds with approx. EUR 1.3 billion in total capital. To date, the funds managed by CapMan have invested in 149 companies in the Nordic countries and exited 72 companies. The latest investments are made in Finnish Metso Drives, Swedish SciBase AB, Norwegian Locus AS and Danish Anhydro Group. CapMan Plc is listed on the Main List of the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

Norsk Kylling
Norsk Kylling was established in 1991, and is a family-owned company situated in Støren, Sør-Trøndelag County. The company processed and sold more than 6000 tons of chicken and 1000 tons of turkey in 2004. The Norsk Kylling group of companies has approximately 90 employees and a budgeted turnover of approx NOK 350 million in 2005. The company’s turnover in 2004 was approximately NOK 290 million.

Arne Magnussen
Arne Magnussen AS was established in 1950, and is a family-owned company situated in Oslo. The company is the second largest supplier of eggs for the Norwegian market. Arne Magnussen AS distributed approximately 7000 tons of eggs in 2004, with a turnover of approximately NOK 146 million.