European Capital Receives Proceeds Of Euro 26.2 Million And Achieves A Money Multiple Of 1.6x From Permaswage Exit

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Nov 07, 2013, 10:00 ET

ST. PETER PORT, Guernsey, Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- European Capital Limited and its consolidated subsidiaries ("European Capital") announced today that they received proceeds of €26.2 million from Bridgepoint's sale of Permaswage (the "Company") to Precision Castparts Corp. European Capital invested €22 million in September 2007 in a second-lien facility to support the secondary buyout of Permaswage by Bridgepoint. European Capital realized a money multiple of 1.6x on its initial investment, representing an IRR of 9.0% over the life of the investment.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of this transaction," said Tristan Parisot, Managing Director of European Capital Financial Services Limited ("ECFS"). "This investment demonstrates our ability to provide flexible financing to leading global midcaps well positioned to expand geographically in the U.S. and in emerging countries. Today we are actively seeking investment opportunities in similar midcap businesses with commitments of up to €100 million, especially in private debt since this asset class currently displays an attractive risk-reward profile in Europe."

"Throughout our six year investment in Permaswage, Bridgepoint has managed to develop a favorable environment for growth," said Stephane Legrand, Managing Director at ECFS. "Bridgepoint made smart strategic choices while building a strong and committed management team, which was successful in reinforcing the Company's leadership and in completing two successful acquisitions and an impressive development effort in China".

Permaswage is the world leading manufacturer of swaged permanent fitting systems for rigid tubing and pipes used on aircrafts for the transport of hydraulic fluid, fuel, oxygen and pneumatic air. With more than a 70% share of the global aerospace and defense permanent fittings market, Permaswage sells to almost all major civil and military aircraft and helicopter programs.

"We've been pleased to work with European Capital who has been a strong and supportive partner during our six year commitment to Permaswage," said Vincent-Gael Baudet, Director at Bridgepoint. "They showed a deep understanding of the business and offered the flexible financing solutions we needed for both the Permaswage acquisition and the various developments under our ownership."

For more information about European Capital's initial investment in Permaswage, click here: http://www.europeancapital.com/en/our-portfolio/permaswage.

ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL
European Capital is an investment company for pan-European equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments with €1.1 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, wholly-owned affiliates of American Capital. Since its inception, European Capital has invested €3.5 billion in over 100 companies in Europe. In France, European Capital has invested €1.1 billion in 29 companies. 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 and American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: MTGE) with approximately US$1 billion of net book value. From its eight offices in the U.S. and Europe, American Capital and its affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment opportunities from US$ 10 million to US$ 750 million. For further information, please refer to www.AmericanCapital.com.

ABOUT BRIDGEPOINT
Bridgepoint is a European private equity firm focusing on the acquisition of companies valued up to €1 billion. With some €11 billion of capital raised to date, it typically focuses on acquiring well managed companies in attractive sectors with the potential to grow organically or through acquisition. It has offices throughout Europe in Frankfurt, Helsinki, Istanbul, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, Warsaw and a portfolio development office in Shanghai. For further information, please refer to www.bridgepoint.eu.