Candover* is a leading provider of equity for large European buyouts. Since its formation in 1980, it has invested in 135 buyouts worth just over €42 billion. Investment in deals by Candover is provided in two forms, from Candover Investments plc, a publicly quoted investment trust capitalised at around €460 million, and from funds managed by Candover Partners, a wholly owned subsidiary. Candover's latest fund, the Candover 2005 Fund, raised €3.5 billion which brought Candover's total funds managed since inception to over €8.7 billion.

The Candover 2005 Fund has made nine investments to date: the €1.7 billion delisting of Stork, the Dutch engineering conglomerate; he buyout of Alma Consulting, a leader in cost reduction and tax recovery services; the €415 million buyout of Capital Safety Group, a leading specialist designer and manufacturer of height safety and fall protection equipment; the buyout of Parques Reunidos, a regional attraction park operator; the buyout of Ferretti, a leading manufacturer of high performance luxury motor yachts; the €1 billion buyout of Hilding Anders a global supplier of mattresses and beds, the €682 million buyout of DX Services, a provider of mail services, the €480 million buyout of EurotaxGlass, a provider of automotive data and intelligence services, and the €450 million buyout of UPC Norway, a Norwegian cable operator.

The Candover 2001 Fund has made sixteen investments including: the €220 million buyout of Qioptiq, a world leader in the design and manufacture of high precision optical components and modules for military and civil applications; the buyout of Wood Mackenzie, a leading provider of research and consulting services; the acquisition of ALcontrol, a leading European environmental and food testing company; the acquisition of Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing, one of Europe's leading electronic publishers of business information; the €465 million investment in Thule AB, the world's leading sports utility transportation company; the €320 million acquisition of Innovia Films; the €729 million acquisition of Vetco International, a major global participant in the oilfield services sector; the €182.5 million buyout of Equity Trust, a global provider of trust and fiduciary services; the €1.65 billion acquisition of academic publishers BertelsmannSpringer and Kluwer Academic Publishers to form a new company, Springer; the €141 million MBI of Wellstream, a manufacturer of flexible pipe for the offshore oil and gas sector; the €1.9 billion buyout of Gala, the retail gaming company; the €1 billion buyout of Belgium-based Ontex, a leading European producer of hygiene products for the babycare, feminine hygiene and adult care markets; the €709 million formation of Aspen Insurance, one of the largest independent reinsurance vehicles in the UK market; and the €393 million buyout of Swissport, a global ground handling business, from the former Swissair Group AG. The 2001 Fund also invested in the €3.1bn buyout of Kabel Deutschland GmbH, a German cable TV company and the buyout of ONO a Spanish cable TV company.

The Candover Group has five offices in London, Madrid, Milan and Paris. Candover Partners Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK.

*Candover means Candover Investments plc and/or Candover Partners Limited.