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Stock exchange release - 20 December 2006

CapMan Real Estate I fund sells its current portfolio for EUR 377.5 million – approx. EUR 13.5 million carried interest to CapMan in 2007

CapMan Real Estate I fund managed by CapMan Real Estate Oy will sell its existing portfolio, consisting of 22 commercial properties, to Samson Properties Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Ajanta Oy. The transaction price is EUR 377.5 million. The execution of the transaction is subject to the approval of competition authorities and it is expected to be closed by the end of January 2007. The transaction will transfer the fund to carry. At closing, the impact of the transaction on CapMan’s result for 2007, taking minority interest into consideration, is approx. EUR 13.5 million as a result of carried interest received from the fund. CapMan Real Estate I and II funds continue their active investment operations after the transaction.

Samson Properties, RBS and Ajanta Oy will make the acquisition through a jointly owned company. Samson Properties is the majority shareholder with Ajanta Oy and RBS as minority shareholders. RBS is also structuring and providing the financing for the transaction. All three companies have wide experience from real estate investments.

 

“The announced transaction is a good example of the currently very active real estate market, which has plenty of buyers, sellers, properties and money in circulation. Demand for larger real estate portfolios is at a high level and also reflected in sales prices. During our ownership we have developed the portfolio very actively through new acquisitions, by developing individual properties and by attracting new tenants. The announced transaction is very good for the fund investors in CapMan Real Estate I,” states Markku Hietala, the Head of CapMan Real Estate.

 

“This purchase confirms the interest Samson Properties has in the Finnish real estate market. The portfolio of properties the consortium is buying offers interesting opportunities and creates a platform for us to operate on here in Finland. We believe that Finnish expertise and know-how will be valuable in developing our activities in Finland and elsewhere in Europe,” says Sveinn Björnsson, Managing Director of Samson Properties Ltd.

 

CapMan Plc’s subsidiary CapMan Real Estate Oy acts as CapMan Real Estate I’s management company. CapMan Plc controls 80% and Corintium Oy 20% of CapMan Real Estate Oy. Following the announced transaction, the management company receives approx. EUR 21 million in carried interest. CapMan Plc’s share of the carried interest received by the management company is 64%, and the aggregate share of CapMan’s real estate team and Corintium Oy is 36%. Due to the aforementioned carry split structure the share of the parent company’s owners is approximately EUR 13.5 million of the carried interest and the share of minority owners is approximately EUR 7.5 million.  

 

“CapMan’s real estate activities have developed very favourably. The announced transaction is a logical next step for the successful building and development of the portfolio, which has, compared to market average, very attractive composition, leasing contracts and vacancy rate level. For CapMan’s result this is an excellent start for the year 2007,” says Heikki Westerlund, CEO of CapMan Plc.

 

CapMan Real Estate I was established in June 2005 and it is currently in the middle of an active investment phase. After the announced transaction the fund’s investment capacity will be EUR 200 million. The fund will continue its investment activities according to original plans and the original investment strategy of targeting commercial properties in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The investment capacity of CapMan RE II fund is approximately EUR 276 million and the fund invests mainly in property development in Finland.

 

We will continue building our real estate portfolio and developing it as previously. We believe that it is still possible to find individual properties that fit our fund’s investment focus and which we can acquire on competitive terms in the market,” states Markku Hietala.

 

Appendix 1: Properties in the sold portfolio

Press and analyst conference:

We would like to invite the media and analysts to a press conference today, 20 December 2006 at 2.30 p.m. in CapMan headquarters, Korkeavuorenkatu 32. The conference will be held partly in Finnish. The presentation material in English will be shown on CapMan’s Internet pages when the press conference has commenced.

 

For further information, please contact:

Markku Hietala, Head of CapMan Real Estate, tel. +358 500 405 879

Heikki Westerlund, CEO, CapMan Plc, tel. +358 9 6155 8304 or +358 50 559 6580

Tapio Peltomäki, Managing Director, Ajanta Oy, tel. +358 400 523 949

Sveinn Björnsson, Managing Director, Samson Properties Ltd, tel. +354 414 6000

 

 

CAPMAN PLC

 

Jerome Bouix

Partner

Fundraising, IR & Communications

 

 

DISTRIBUTION

Helsinki Stock Exchange

Principal media

www.capman.com



CapMan
CapMan is one of the leading private equity investors in the Nordic countries and manages Nordic buyout, mezzanine, technology, life science and real estate funds with approximately EUR 2.6 billion in total capital. Each investment area has a dedicated team and altogether CapMan employs around 100 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo. Established in 1989, CapMan has strong experience as a fund manager and as a partner for investors and entrepreneurs. To date CapMan has made over 150 Nordic investments and over 90 exits. The current portfolio encompasses over 60 companies with an aggregate turnover of approx. EUR 2.5 billion and aggregate personnel of 17,000 people. The latest investments are made in Finnish Maintpartner Oy, Danish ScanJour A/S, Swedish QuickCool AB and Norwegian InfoCare ASA. The portfolio of CapMan’s first private equity real estate fund consists of 22 commercial properties in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The B shares of CapMan Plc are listed on the Main List of the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 2001. www.capman.com

Samson Properties
Samson Properties Ltd is an international real estate company lead by Icelandic investors Thor Bjorgolfsson and Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. The company has a strong financial background, with an extensive investment network and a track record of building successful strategic and financial partnership and has a wide ranging experience of real estate investments in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The company’s investments are in local real estate companies with strong management, well defined operations and a growth potential.  

The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
The Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS, was founded in Edinburgh in 1727 and is the third largest bank in Europe by market cap with over 140,000 employees worldwide. RBS is present in the Nordic Region with offices in Stockholm, Helsinki and Oslo.  RBS Nordic Region offers a broad range of financing and risk management products to large corporates, financial institutions and public parties.  

Ajanta Oy
Ajanta Oy is a private Finnish investment company, founded in 1989. Ajanta invests in unlisted and listed companies mainly in the fields of telecommunications, media and biotechnologies. Ajanta has taken part in various corporate restructurings, corporate sales and mergers as an advisor and as a main strategist.