Doughty Hanson to Acquire Equity Trust for EUR350m

LONDON, September 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- Intention to Merge Equity Trust With TMF Group Announced

Doughty Hanson & Co, one of the largest independent private equity firms in Europe, today announced that it is to acquire Equity Trust, a leading global provider of complex, high-end business administration and fiduciary services, for a total consideration of EUR350m from Candover and other institutional shareholders. The existing senior management team will invest alongside Doughty Hanson.

Equity Trust provides a range of high-end and complex administrative services to organisations worldwide, including secretarial and legal administration services; structured finance solutions; fund administration; complex private client administration; and book keeping and accounting. The fast growing business employs more than 1,200 people in more than 40 offices around the world, and services more than 14,000 client entities.

Mark Corbidge, Co-head of Private Equity at Doughty Hanson said today: "The rapid pace of globalisation, combined with growing and increasingly complex regulation, is driving an outsourcing trend amongst organisations that are keen to focus on their core competencies and increasing their transparency and corporate governance. Equity Trust is well-placed to take advantage of these trends and to benefit from further sustained growth in demand for its services."

Subsequent to closure of the transaction, which is expected by the end of the year, and subject to regulatory approvals, Doughty Hanson intends to merge Equity Trust with its existing portfolio business TMF Group, to create the world leader in the growing market of complex business administration outsourcing, and to redefine the market for such services. Doughty Hanson acquired TMF Group for a consideration of EUR750m in July 2008.

Mark Corbidge continued: "Through a combination with TMF, which delivers highly complementary services and which is also growing rapidly, we expect to deliver significant value by creating a high growth, market defining leader that is greater than the sum of its parts."

Frederik van Tuyll, Chief Executive Officer at Equity Trust added: "Today's announcement heralds a new and exciting chapter in the history of Equity Trust and, together with Doughty Hanson and TMF Group, we are looking forward to delivering on ambitious growth plans. A combination with TMF Group would be a logical strategic step that both companies have explored for some time, not least because of the similarities in history, culture and services. We believe that a merger of two companies with administrative excellence and outstanding customer service as their core competencies would create significant opportunities for our global client base and the employees of both firms."

Notes to Editors:

Doughty Hanson & Co (http://www.doughtyhanson.com)

Doughty Hanson & Co is one of the largest independent private equity firms in Europe with offices in London, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Stockholm. Since 1985, Doughty Hanson has established a strong track record of buying and developing market-leading businesses in Europe and has undertaken investments with an aggregate acquisition value of EUR25 billion.

Equity Trust (http://www.equitytrust.com)

Equity Trust is the world's leading independent provider of high end administrative and fiduciary services. Established in 1970, the company started life as an affiliate of a Dutch law firm, providing international corporate secretarial services. In 2003, the business underwent a management buyout, cementing its position as an independent provider, with no ties to a bank or law firm. Key Equity Trust acquisitions have included: the trust operations of Standard Chartered Bank in 2004; the global trust and fiduciary business of ABN AMRO Bank (2005); Ernst and Young's domiciliation and related corporate secretarial services in Luxembourg (2006); and in 2008, Equity Fund Services, the fund administration unit of Equity Trust, was merged with Custom House Global Fund Services Ltd.

TMF Group (http://www.tmf-group.com)

TMF Group, founded in 1988, is a leading global provider of complex, high end business administration services. It serves more than 21,000 client entities for its multinational clients, serviced by 3,300 employees out of 87 offices in 67 counties. TMF has grown quickly in recent years with revenues increasing by EUR156.6 million (or 287%) between 2005 and 2010. The Group's service offering is almost identical to that of Equity Trust, with the addition of HR administrative services, VAT & IPT services, IP licensing and collection.

SOURCE Doughty Hanson & Co