Press release - 10 June 2005

CapMan exits Norwegian EuroProcessing International ASA

Mezzanine funds managed/advised by CapMan have announced the realisation of their investment in transaction processing company EuroProcessing International ASA (EPI). At the same time Reiten & Co and Creati AS, the current owners of EPI, will sell their stake in the company to First Data Corporation.

Norwegian EPI was established in 2000. The company specialises in payment transaction processing and is the market leader in Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia, where it has transaction processing centres. EPI’s business has developed significantly within the past few years and the company has become a major provider of services for card and electronic payments’ markets in Central and Eastern Europe. Since 2003, the company has tripled its profits and expanded operations from two to ten countries. CapMan’s Finnmezzanine III funds invested in EPI in May 2004.

”This is an excellent example of how a company can use mezzanine to finance strong growth. EPI has expanded its operations rapidly and profitably as a result of close co-operation between the company’s management and owners. This has been a very good mezzanine investment to CapMan,” states Markus Sjöholm, Partner at CapMan.

For further information, please contact:
Markus Sjöholm, Partner, CapMan Buyout, tel. +358 9 6155 8312

About the companies:

CapMan Group
CapMan is one of the leading private equity investors in the Nordic countries and specialises in middle market buyouts in various industry sectors, technology investments in the IT and communications 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 1.4 billion in total capital. To date, the funds managed by CapMan have invested in 141 companies in the Nordic countries and exited from 69 companies. The latest investments are made in Norwegian Cardinal Foods AS, Finnish Moventas Oy (formerly Metso Drives Oy), Swedish SciBase AB and Danish Anhydro Group. CapMan Plc is listed on the Main List of the Helsinki Stock Exchange. www.capman.com

EuroProcessing International ASA (EPI)
EPI was established in early 2000 to participate in and develop the fast growing cards and electronic payments markets in the Baltic States and Central and Eastern Europe, through investing into domestic transaction processing companies. Today EPI owns Transacty in Bratislava, Slovakia, SIA BankServiss in Riga, Latvia and UAB Mokejimo Korteliu Sistemos (MKS) in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is the only processing company with full service operations in several CEE-markets and currently serving clients in Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia.

All companies in which EPI is an owner provide services for banks, financial institutions and merchants/ retailers in their local markets, enabling them to offer profitable, flexible and effective payment solutions. Services offered range from traditional card-based payment to virtual payment solutions for fixed and mobile devices. www.europrocessing.no

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