June 12, 2008

Acquisition of Karl Eugen Fischer Holding GmbH

Equita GmbH & Co. Fonds 3 KGaA, an industry holding company belonging to the Harald Quandt Group, has purchased a majority participation in Karl Eugen Fischer Holding GmbH, Burgkunstadt, through a secondary buy-out from funds managed by Halder Beteiligungsberatung. The transaction is already approved by the German anti-trust authorities. Karl Eugen Fischer is a technologically leading manufacturer of cutting machines for the tire industry. The company specialises in cord-cutting machines which are used in the production of tires worldwide. Renowned international tire manufacturers are among Karl Eugen Fischer´s customers. The well-established company, which was founded in 1940, also provides tailor-made steel-processing machines.

Karl Eugen Fischer has a strong global customer base. The company´s worldwide business is managed from the manufacturing base in Burgkunstadt and has a distribution company active in the USA. In 2007, Karl Eugen Fischer generated revenues of € 51 million with a workforce of 324 employees.

Background

EQUITA is an independent, non-bank-affiliated investment company based in Bad Homburg, which, through the vehicle of funds managed exclusively in-house, invests in midsized companies in the German-speaking countries. EQUITA, which grew out of the business activities of the Harald Quandt family, generally acquires majority stakes in companies offering significant growth and value enhancement potentials. Current investments are being made from the Equita GmbH & Co. Fonds 3 KGaA, which closed in spring of 2007 after raising a total fund volume of €315m. An open-ended fund with no fixed investment timeframe, the Equita GmbH &Co. Fonds 3 KGaA is an ideal vehicle for longer-term investment strategies. In total, EQUITA currently manages three private equity funds with equity in excess of €500m. Since 1992, 22 companies have been acquired, with 15 of these having subsequently been divested. The seven companies currently in the portfolio have a combined workforce of around 3,000 and aggregate sales revenues of close on €500m. Further information is available on the company website at www.equita.de.

Halder invested in more than 130 medium-sized companies since the beginning of the eighties. Halder has been active in Germany since 1991 and is one of the leading private equity investors for management buy-outs in the German middle market. Halder Germany has currently more than € 500 million capital under management. Halder is part of GIMV, a listed European private equity and venture capital group. GIMV focuses on buyouts, growth capital, venture capital and infrastructure investments. More information on www.gimv.com.

For further information please call:

Equita Management GmbH

Dr. Michael Hönig
Telephone: +49-6172-9441-0

E-Mail: michael.hoenig@equita.de