European Capital Completes Sale Of Its Portfolio Company Metall Technologie Holding

ST. PETER PORT, Guernsey, June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- European Capital Limited and its affiliates ("European Capital") announced today that they have completed the sale of portfolio company Metall Technologie Holding GmbH and its affiliates ("MTH" or the "Company") to LOI Thermprocess GmbH ("LOI"), a subsidiary of Tenova SpA ("Tenova").  European Capital acquired MTH in December 2006 in a One Stop Buyout®, providing senior term loans including a revolving credit facility, an acquisition line, a mezzanine loan, a shareholder loan and common equity.  European Capital earned a 1.6x money multiple on its investment.  This return includes the interest and fees earned over the life of European Capital's investment in MTH.  The amount realized by European Capital was greater than the first quarter 2013 valuation of the investment by 1%.

"We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this transaction," said Tristan Parisot, Managing Director of European Capital Financial Services Limited ("ECFS").  "We actively seek attractive investment opportunities in growing mid-size businesses with enterprise values up to €500 million, which are well positioned to expand geographically.  With equipment sales in Asia that grew from 12% to 29% of revenues between 2005 and 2012, MTH perfectly illustrates this positioning."

"Following our initial investment in 2006, we have developed an outstanding partnership with management whom we've worked closely with consolidating the Company's leadership," said Etienne Haubold, Managing Director at ECFS. "We are proud to have been a part of MTH's history of excellence and successful geographic expansion, and we're excited for the Company as it moves forward under Tenova's ownership, which will further grow MTH's geographic footprint while generating benefits from Tenova's extensive experience."

MTH is a leading international provider of industrial heat treatment technology and aftermarket services for thermo-chemical and thermo-physical treatment of finished metallic and alloy-based components, primarily in the aerospace, heat treatment, automotive and machine tooling industries.  These processes are applied in a broad range of industries to modify a material's physical characteristics in order to increase flexibility, wear-resistance or hardness.  The Company offers a complete range of customized and advanced industrial heat treatment equipment, both vacuum and atmospheric, and provides aftermarket parts and services for an installed base of 2,500 units.  MTH serves its global blue-chip customers with over 320 employees through five well established brands:  Schmetz, Mahler and IVA in Germany, BMI in France and Huisen in China.  MTH is headquartered in Menden, Germany.

"Throughout our seven-year investment, which illustrates European Capital's long-term commitment to portfolio companies and their management teams, the Company has achieved significant objectives, including making strategic investments in personnel, procurement and innovation, as well as successfully establishing its presence in China," stated Olivier Meline, Investment Director at ECFS.  "MTH's skilled and committed teams, dedication to the highest standards of quality and strong performance in after-sales services have made it an attractive acquisition for Tenova."

For more information about European Capital's initial investment in MTH, click here: www.europeancapital.com/en/Pages/our_portfolio/companies/metall_technologie.aspx.  European Capital later supported MTH in establishing its presence in the key heat treatment market of the People's Republic of China ("China").  For more information about MTH's expansion in China, click here: www.europeancapital.com/en/Pages/news/newsreleases/2010/pr20100105.aspx.

"European Capital's long-term, hands-on and expert support has exceeded our expectations and has been instrumental in strengthening our business in the past couple of years, building a solid platform from which MTH will continue to grow," said Stefan Blum, CEO of MTH. "We valued their contribution in defining and executing the right expansion strategy for China, as well as successfully navigating the Company through the last recession.  The MTH management team and employees now look forward to the next phase of the Company's development as part of Tenova."

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 28 different companies. 

ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL
European Capital is an investment company for pan-European equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments with €1.2 billion in assets under management.  European Capital is a wholly-owned affiliate of American Capital, Ltd ("American Capital").  It is managed by European Capital Financial Services (Guernsey) Limited ("ECFSG"), and its sub investment manager European Capital Financial Services Limited ("ECFS" and, together with ECFSG, the "Investment Manager"), wholly-owned affiliates of American Capital.  The Investment Manager has offices in London and Paris.  As of 31 March 2013 the Investment Manager had 5 investment teams with 24 investment professionals and employed 27 support staff.  European Capital and its affiliates will consider senior and mezzanine debt investment opportunities from 10 million to 40 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, Ltd. (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 $21.2 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with $112 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets).  From its eight offices in the U.S. and Europe, American Capital and its affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment opportunities from $10 million to $750 million.  For further information, please refer to www.AmericanCapital.com.

Contact: European Capital Financial Services Limited + 33 1 40 68 06 66

Etienne Haubold, Managing Director
Olivier Meline, Investment Director

SOURCE European Capital Limited