European Capital Arranges The Unirate Bonds Financing To Support The Acquisition Of INSEEC Group By Apax Partners

ST. PETER PORT, Guernsey, Jan. 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- European Capital Limited and its consolidated subsidiaries ("European Capital") announced today that they, along with Tikehau, arranged the unirate bonds financing supporting the acquisition of INSEEC Group ("INSEEC" or the "Group"), by funds advised by Apax Partners.  INSEEC is one of the leading private education groups in France.  European Capital is Agent and Bondholders' Representative of the unirate bonds and, as lead investor in the unirate bonds, will appoint an observer to the Group's Board of Directors.

INSEEC is a leading French education network operating in France (Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Chambery) and abroad (Monaco, London and Chicago). It offers business oriented academic programs to c. 15,000 post high school students through 11 schools and 17 programs with a particular focus on four educational segments: business, communication, executive education and exam preparation courses. The Group is a member of the Conference des Grandes Ecoles and partners with 200 foreign universities to offer the most diverse international exposure. Over the years, INSEEC has been able to create a powerful brand around its name confirmed by recent graduate employability studies and is particularly praised for its entrepreneurial spirit as highlighted by the success of its incubator launched in 2010 and permanent search to tailor its programs to student's wishes and companies' needs. INSEEC Group has recently developed innovative on-line programs and is ready to benefit from the promising growth of this segment.   

"We are pleased to invest in unitranche bonds to support the acquisition of INSEEC," stated Tristan Parisot, Managing Director of European Capital Financial Services Limited ("ECFS"). "This investment demonstrates our ability to provide tailor-made financing solutions to industry leaders in the mid-market. We remain focused on originating high quality private debt opportunities in midcap businesses with commitments of up to €100 million across Europe."

"We are pleased to support an excellent and highly experienced management team that has been very successful in acquiring and integrating other schools and programs, which allowed the Group to enlarge its offering and further enhance its reputation in France and abroad," said Stephane Legrand, Managing Director of ECFS. "With its network of 11 schools specialized in attractive niches and its three campus locations in Monaco, London,  and Chicago, the Group has not only reached a critical mass but also demonstrates its capacity to manage numerous campuses across the world and benefits from complementarities and synergies that constitute a clear competitive advantage in a fragmented sector. Therefore, we believe that INSEEC Group is very well positioned to benefit from the growing penetration of higher education and to drive the consolidation of its sector."

"We aim at offering the best programs to INSEEC's students through academic excellence, ever tighter links with the corporate world, entrepreneurship and a constant focus on international exposure," said Catherine Lespine, CEO of INSEEC. "This is evidenced by the signature with Tsinghua University in Shenzhen of our joint-DBA program and the opening of our second campus in the US, in San Francisco, in 2014."

"Apax Partners is very pleased to partner once again with European Capital," said Bertrand Pivin, Partner at Apax Partners. "We appreciate European Capital's capacity to value the management team's strategic rationale, positioning themselves as a partner of choice for the Group, with a shared focus on the quality of education."

ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL
European Capital is an investment company for pan-European equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments with €1.0 billion in assets under management.  European Capital is a wholly-owned affiliate of American Capital, Ltd ("American Capital").  It is managed by European Capital Asset Management Limited ("ECAM" or the "Investment Manager"), a wholly-owned affiliates of American Capital.  Since its inception, European Capital has invested €3.5 billion in over 100 companies in Europe.  The Investment Manager has offices in London and Paris with 55 employees.  European Capital and its affiliates will consider senior and mezzanine debt investment opportunities from 10 million to 100 million in either euros or sterling and up to 400 million for One Stop Buyouts^®.  For further information, please refer to www.EuropeanCapital.com.

ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL
American Capital (Nasdaq: ACAS) is a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager.  American Capital, both directly and through its asset management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate and structured products.  American Capital manages US$ 20 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with US$ 117 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets). Through an affiliate, American Capital manages publicly traded American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC) with approximately US$ 10 billion of net book value, American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: MTGE) with approximately US$1 billion of net book value and American Capital Senior Floating, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACSF).  From its eight offices in the U.S. and Europe, American Capital and its affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment opportunities from US$ 10 million to US$ 750 million.  For further information, please refer to www.AmericanCapital.com.

ABOUT APAX PARTNERS
Apax Partners is a leading private equity firm in French-speaking European countries. With more than 40 years of experience, Apax Partners provides long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. Funds managed and advised by Apax Partners exceed €2.5 billion.

These funds invest in fast-growing middle-market companies across six specialist sectors. Companies currently supported by Apax Partners are:

• Technology Media Telecom: Altran Technologies, GFI Informatique, Infopro Digital, and Vocalcom
• Retail & Consumer: ALAIN AFFLELOU, Europe Snacks, Groupe Royer, and Thom Europe (Histoire d'or, Marc Orian and TresOr)
• Healthcare: Amplitude, Capio, DBV Technologies, and Unilabs
• Business & Financial Services: Albioma, Buy Way Personal Finance, Groupe INSEEC, and Texa

For more information, please visit www.apax.fr

ABOUT INSEEC GROUP
With close to 15,000 students and 40,000 alumni, the INSEEC Group has year after year confirmed its place as one of the leading groups in French private higher education. Located in four cities in France (Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Chambery) as well as Monaco, London and Chicago, the Group has enhanced the friendly environment provided to its students with every opportunity offered by large cities. Over the years, the INSEEC Group has been a pioneer in providing international experience to its students and become a reference in the international private Higher Education sector. For more information, please visit: www.groupeinseec.com  

Contact: European Capital Financial Services Limited + 33 1 40 68 06 66
Stephane Legrand, Managing Director

SOURCE European Capital Limited