CapMan press release 18 June 2010 at 8.55 a.m. EET
CapMan makes partial exit from MQ Holding AB as part of MQ’s IPO
Not for distribution in the US, Canada, Australia or Japan or in any other country in which distribution or publication would be illegal.
Funds managed by CapMan have sold 6.8 million of their shares in MQ Holding AB in connection with the company’s IPO. MQ’s share price was set at SEK 32 giving a market cap of approximately SEK 1.1 billion. The offering was subscribed several times. The partial exit from MQ by CapMan’s funds will not affect CapMan Plc’s result for 2010, as the funds involved are not yet generating carried interest.
MQ is one of Sweden’s leading players in women’s and men’s fashion, with 106 stores and a product portfolio comprising both its own and external brands.
“CapMan became the major owner of MQ in 2006, and the company has developed positively during our ownership period. After four years of active development work we believe that MQ is now well-placed as a fully integrated retail chain. We are convinced that the public listing will support the company in executing its Nordic expansion strategy. We are also very pleased to report that the interest for MQ has been strong, both in Sweden as well as internationally,” says Göran Barsby, CapMan Partner and a member of MQ’s Board of Directors.
CapMan’s equity funds, CapMan Buyout VIII and CapMan Equity VII A, B, Sweden, held a combined 52% stake in MQ prior to the public listing, which has now been reduced to 28% (excluding over allotment option[1]). The shares that remain held by CapMan funds are subject to a six-month lock up period. Following the listing, MQ will repay its remaining mezzanine loans to CapMan Mezzanine IV and Finnmezzanine Fund III B.
The partial exit and the repayment of the mezzanine loans will move the CapMan funds concerned closer to generating carried interest, but do not change the previous guidance given by CapMan on when these funds are expected to start generating carried interest income.
Trading in the MQ share on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm starts today, 18 June 2010 under the ticker symbol “MQ”.
For further information, please contact:
Göran Barsby, Partner, CapMan Buyout, tel. +46 8 545 854 79 or +46 734 40 84 87
CapMan www.capman.com
CapMan is one of the leading alternative asset managers in the Nordic countries and Russia and manages private equity funds with approximately EUR 3.6 billion in total capital. CapMan has six investment areas (CapMan Buyout, CapMan Technology, CapMan Life Science, CapMan Russia, CapMan Public Market and CapMan Real Estate), and each of them has a dedicated team and funds. Altogether CapMan employs approximately150 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Moscow. CapMan was established in 1989 and its B shares have been listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 2001.
MQ Holding AB www.mq.se
MQ is one of Sweden’s leading retailers in fashion brands. Through a mixture of own and external brands, MQ offers men and women high fashion clothing in attractive stores. The store chain currently has 106 stores and the objective is to establish MQ as the leading brand chain in the Nordic region.
NOT FOR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN. THE SECURITIES REFERRED TO HEREIN HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO US PERSONS UNLESS THE SECURITIES ARE REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT, OR AN EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT IS AVAILABLE. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE SECURITIES WILL BE MADE IN THE UNITED STATES.
[1] The offer comprises a total of 16,542,578 shares. CapMan and certain other shareholders have undertaken to sell additional shares in order to cover possible over allotment in connection with the offering amounting to 15% of the offer size.
