CapMan Press Release 7 June 2010 07.55 a.m. CET
CapMan’s portfolio company MQ applies for listing on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm
Not for distribution in the US, Canada, Australia or Japan or in any other country in which distribution or publication would be illegal.
MQ Holding AB, a portfolio company of CapMan funds, has applied for listing of the company’s shares on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm exchange and publishes a listing prospectus. In connection with the listing, CapMan funds intend reducing their shareholdings in the company. The expected first trading day on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm will be 18 June 2010. The CapMan funds’ intended partial exit from MQ Holding AB will not affect CapMan Plc’s result for 2010 as the funds involved are not yet generating carried interest.
MQ Holding AB (“MQ”) is one of Sweden’s leading players in fashion brands for women and men with 106 stores and a product portfolio comprising both its own and external brands. CapMan funds made their initial investment in MQ in 2006 with the primary objective of transforming MQ from a network of independent retailers to a fully integrated retail business and to improve its efficiency. Together with the company’s management, CapMan has substantially strengthened MQ’s competitive edge and corporate culture and provided a solid platform for continued profitable growth.
“I’m very pleased with and proud of the way MQ has developed. I’m also pleased to announce our partial exit from MQ through a listing on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm and to introduce MQ as an investment target to a wider public. We have prepared MQ for listing for some time now and we believe that the company is in a good position to take advantage of the listed status and to continue its growth,” says Göran Barsby, CapMan Partner and member of the Board of Directors of MQ.
The initial investment in MQ was made by the CapMan Buyout VIII, CapMan Equity VII A, B and Sweden, CapMan Mezzanine IV and Finnmezzanine III B funds. The partial exit will move these funds closer to generating carried interest, but does not change CapMan’s previously given guidance on when they are expected to start generating carried interest income.
If the listing and sale of shares proceed to plan, CapMan funds are expected to reduce their shareholdings in MQ from approximately 52% to approximately 24%1. The selling price is expected be set in the interval of SEK 31 to 36 per share. The application period for the general public is 8 June – 16 June 2010. There will be a six-month lock-up period for the shares that remain held by CapMan funds. More detailed information on the offering has been issued in a press release and a prospectus published by MQ today.
MQ will host a press conference today at 10.30 a.m. CET in the company’s store at Sturegallerian in Stockholm, Sweden. Address: Stureplan 4, 114 46 Stockholm.
For further information, please contact:
Göran Barsby, Partner, CapMan Buyout, tel. +46 8 545 854 79 or +46 734 40 84 87
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN OR TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN OR IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN WHICH DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION WOULD BE ILLEGAL. 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 U.S. 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 Based on maximum number of shares being issued in a set-off issue preceding the listing and that the over-allotment option being fully exercised. The number of shares issued through the set-off issue will depend on the final selling price. After the offering there will be a maximum of 35,456,331 and a minimum of 34,164,475 shares outstanding.
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 approximately 150 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Moscow. CapMan was established in 1989 and its B shares are listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 2001.
MQ Holding AB www.mq.se
MQ is one of Sweden’s leading brand chains. With a mix of own and external brands, MQ offers men’s and women’s clothing with a high fashion content in attractive stores. The chain currently comprises 106 stores, and the ambition is to establish MQ as the leading brand chain in the Nordic region.
