Acquisition of secondary interest in HgCapital 6

RNS Number : 6105K

HG Capital Trust PLC

19 July 2011

 



HgCapital Trust buys a secondary interest in HgCapital 6

London, 19 July 2011: HgCapital Trust plc (or "the Trust") has today announced the acquisition from a third party of a £15 million limited partnership interest in HgCapital 6 ("Hg6"), the current buyout fund of its Manager, HgCapital.

The Trust has paid £7.8 million in cash for the funds already invested. This represents a 2% premium above the Net Asset Value of Hg6 as at 31^st December 2010, adjusted for subsequent cash flows to the date to completion. The balance of the Trust's new investment represents a commitment of £7.2 million which will be drawn down to fund new deals pari passu with other limited partnership interests held by institutional clients of HgCapital. The vendor is selling the interest as part of its stated strategy to wind down its exposure to the private equity sector.

At the end of 2008, the Trust agreed to invest £285 million by way of co-investment alongside its Manager's Hg6 limited partnership. Hg6 and the Trust's co-investment agreement together form a £1.9 billion investment fund targeting mid-market buyouts in Western Europe.  Accordingly, the Trust has taken a 15% interest in each of HgCapital's buyout acquisitions. The acquisition of a limited partnership interest in Hg6 therefore increases the Trust's participation in each of HgCapital's deals to 15.8%.

Between the launch of Hg6 and 31 May 2011, £132 million of the Trust's capital has been invested as follows:

Co-investments alongside Hg6 (as at 31 May 2011) as a % of the Trust's NAV

	Investment	Sector	Geography	Year	£m	% NAV
1	TeamSystem	TMT	Italy	2010	25,621	7.2%
2	Frösunda	Healthcare	Nordic Region	2010	15,947	4.5%
3	Lumesse	TMT	UK	2010	14,281	4.0%
4	Midas (t/a Goldshield)	Healthcare	UK	2009	12,441	3.5%
5	JLA	Services	UK	2010	12,227	3.5%
6	Manx Telecom	TMT	UK	2010	11,033	3.1%
7	SimonsVoss	Industrials	Germany	2010	10,560	3.0%
8	ATC	Services	Benelux	2011	10,379	2.9%
9	Teufel	Industrials	Germany	2010	9,791	2.7%
10	Epyx	TMT	UK	2009	9,783	2.7%
	Total				132,063	37.1%

In addition to these investments, in June 2011 the Trust agreed to contribute £12.3 million (3.5% of NAV) towards HgCapital's acquisition of Mainio Vire, Finland's leading social care company.

As a result of this transaction and the investment in Mainio Vire, liquid resources are estimated to be £82.0 million (23% of the 31 May 2011 NAV) and the Trust's undrawn commitment to Hg6, Hg5, RPP and RPP2 is £200 million.

Roger Mountford, Chairman of HgCapital Trust, commented: "The Board is very pleased to take advantage of this opportunity to increase our exposure to a portfolio of investments that we know well and which we believe will deliver strong medium-term growth to the Trust's Net Asset Value. 

"Occasional opportunities to make secondary purchases in funds managed by HgCapital present us with another way to derive returns from funds in which we have confidence, so as to achieve shareholder value while managing our resources. We will be interested to look at other secondary opportunities in our Manager's funds that may arise in the future."

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For further details please contact:

HgCapital Trust:	Roger Mountford	[phone]
Maitland:	Neil Bennett	[phone]
	George Hudson Rowan Brown

About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc is an investment trust whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange.  The Trust is a client of HgCapital, giving investors exposure to a portfolio of high-growth private companies, through a liquid vehicle.  New investments and existing portfolio companies are managed by HgCapital, an experienced and well resourced private equity firm with a long-term track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors.  The Trust has won the Investment Week Private Equity Investment Trust of the Year in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.  

Over the last ten years (to 31 May 2011), the compound annual growth rate of the HgCapital Trust plc share price has been 14.6% p.a. compared to 4.5% p.a. from the FTSE All-Share Index.

For further details, please see www.hgcapitaltrust.com

About HgCapital

HgCapital is a private equity investor focused on the European middle market. Its business model combines sector-specific thematic investing with dedicated portfolio management support. HgCapital seeks to invest in growth companies in expanding sectors which create jobs across Western Europe.

HgCapital is also an investor in renewable energy, establishing itself as a market leader by building a dedicated energy investment team in 2004. It continues to invest a dedicated fund in a range of renewable power technologies across Western Europe.

HgCapital manages over £3.4 billion for some of the world's leading institutional and private investors.  For further details, please see www.hgcapital.com.

Neither the contents of HgCapital's website, HgCapital Trust's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the websites (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

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