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Stock exchange release - 30 May 2005

Nanso to acquire Vogue Group from CapMan funds

The funds managed/advised by CapMan, J.P. Morgan Partners and Uponor Corporation have announced the sale of their holdings in Vogue Group to Nanso Oy. The transaction is to be executed by the end of June. The realisation of the investment in Vogue Group transfers the Fenno/Skandia I Fund co-managed by CapMan and Fenno Management Oy to carry and it moves the Fenno Fund substantially closer to carry. The exit will impact CapMan Plc’s result for 2005 by approx. MEUR 0.6 as a consequence of carried interest income received from Fenno/Skandia I and Finnventure III funds.

Vogue Group Oy is a leading textile company in the Nordic countries. The Group’s best-known brands are Vogue, Amar and Norlyn fine hosiery as well as Finnwear, KS and Easywear socks. Additionally, Vogue Group markets ladies’ and men’s underwear under the Norlyn and Easywear brands.

”We are very pleased to have found such a good home for Vogue Group. In our opinion Nanso has excellent preconditions for the further development of Vogue Group’s highly profitable business,” says CapMan Partner Markus Sjöholm.

Nanso Oy is one of the leading Nordic manufacturers of tricot products and Nanso, Black Horse, Hyvon and Finnwear are its well-known brand names. The product range includes ladies’ and men’s daywear, nightwear, underwear and beachwear.

”Nanso has good faith in Vogue’s strong brands. The business concepts of Nanso and Vogue Group complement one another very well, and the company’s growth via this acquisition enables us to provide even better customer service. Nanso will also have better opportunities for the international development of logistics, distribution channels and brands in future,” states Pertti Lahervuori, Managing Director of Nanso Oy.

The funds managed/advised by CapMan and J.P. Morgan Capital Partners acquired Vogue Group in 1998 from Uponor Corporation, which remained a minority owner. American J.P. Morgan Capital Partners acted as lead investor in the investor group. Prior to the current transaction, CapMan funds’ stake in the company was about 35%. The investment has been reasonable for investors in CapMan funds.

SUMMA Corporate Finance has acted as a financial advisor for the sellers in the transaction.


For further information, please contact:
Markus Sjöholm, Partner, CapMan, tel. +358 40 508 0121
Raimo Kotiranta, Managing Director, Vogue Group Oy, tel. +358 400 352 047
Pertti Lahervuori, Managing Director, Nanso, tel. +358 400 816 704
Jonathan Meggs, J.P. Morgan Partners Europe Limited, tel. +44 77 1001 9262    


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 68 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.

Vogue Group Oy
The Vogue Group Oy is a leading textile company in the Nordic countries. Vogue Group's best-known hosiery brands are Vogue, Amar and Norlyn (also includes ladies' underwear) and its sock brands are Finnwear, KS and Easywear (also men’s underwear). The Group has a head office and logistics centre in Tampere, production sites in Tornio and Tallinn, and sales offices in Stockholm and Moscow. The Vogue Group's net sales amounted to MEUR 28.3 in 2004 and it employed 377 persons.
www.voguegroup.fi

Nanso Oy
Nanso Oy is a Finnish family business that was founded in 1921. Nanso’s turnover in 2004 was MEUR 46.7, half of which was made up by Nanso products and the rest by Black Horse, Hyvon and Finnwear products combined. Nanso has exclusive boutiques in Helsinki and Stockholm among other cities. Nanso Oy has some 500 employees in Tampere, Nokia, Parola, Parkano and Estonia.
www.nanso.fi