Nordic Capital Sells Nycomed to a Group of Investors Led by CSFB Private Equity

Nordic Capital has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Nycomed, the European market-driven pharmaceutical company, to a company owned by CSFB Private Equity, Blackstone Capital Partners and NIB Capital Private Equity NV. The transaction price has not been disclosed.

Nordic Capital has signed an agreement to sell Nycomed Holding A/S to a newly established company owned by CSFB Private Equity, Blackstone Capital Partners and NIB Capital Private Equity. The transaction gives Nycomed an opportunity to further expand and develop the Company as a strong European market-driven pharmaceutical company.

Nordic Capital acquired a majority of the shares in Nycomed from Amersham plc in May 1999, and then acquired Amersham’s remaining shareholding in August 2001.

Between 1999 and 2001, Nycomed has shown sustained revenue growth of in excess of 15% annually, adjusted for terminated or divested businesses. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciations and amortisation) from the underlying operations has grown more than 25% on a yearly basis.

Nycomed has developed strongly under Nordic Capital’s ownership. The Company has completed a successful restructuring project of its manufacturing operations that has and will continue to increase efficiency and capacity. European market coverage has been both extended and strengthened, with a presence established in new markets, e.g. France, and an improved position in stronghold markets such as the Nordic region, Russia and the rest of CIS. Nycomed has also secured a number of significant European in-licensing agreements including TransMID™, a novel biopharmaceutical product for the treatment of brain tumours, and AngioMax®, an anticoagulant in patients undergoing angioplasty.

Håkan Björklund, CEO of Nycomed, said: “With our new owners, I see excellent opportunities for Nycomed to further strengthen its sales and marketing position throughout Europe, as well as in-license additional interesting products for these markets.”

Toni Weitzberg, Partner at Nordic Capital and Chairman of Nycomed commented: “Nycomed has had a very impressive development during the three and a half years that Nordic Capital has owned the company. I am convinced that the new owners will provide the resources required for the continuing expansion of Nycomed.”

Thompson Dean, Head of Leveraged Corporate Private Equity at CSFB said: “We look forward to working with Nycomed’s management to further develop and expand this business in Europe.” He added, “We are pleased to make this significant investment in the exciting and fast growing European pharmaceutical sector.”

Chinh Chu, a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group, said: “This investment is an affirmation of our belief in the attractive fundamentals of the specialty pharmaceutical sector, and our confidence in Nycomed’s strong management team.”

Håkan Björklund will continue as CEO of Nycomed Holding. Consummation of the transaction is subject to the approval of competition authorities. Goldman Sachs International acted as exclusive financial advisor to Nordic Capital and the other sellers in this transaction. Credit Suisse First Boston acted as financial advisor to CSFB Private Equity.

Notes to editors

Nycomed is a European market-driven pharmaceutical company. Nycomed sources, develops, manufactures and markets specialist and prescription pharmaceuticals and consumer health products. Specialised sales teams target general practitioners, hospital specialists and pharmacies. In-house capabilities also include international product sourcing, late-stage clinical trials, local and European registration as well as life-cycle management. Nycomed has 36 sales offices in 15 European markets including the CIS with manufacturing facilities in Norway, Denmark, Austria, Belgium and Estonia. The company is headquarted in Roskilde, Denmark. 2001 revenues amounted to € 508.3 million, with EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxations, depreciations and amortisation) of € 105.4 million. The total number of employees is approximately 2,600, of whom more than half are within sales and marketing.

Nordic Capital is a leading private equity firm active in the Nordic region and has since its start in 1990 made 49 acquisitions with a total turnover of € 7.8 billion including add-on acquisitions. Previous acquisitions include Biovitrum, Nybron Flooring International, Ahlsell, Wilson Logistics, Mölnlycke Health Care, Anticimex, Fritidsresegruppen, BT Industries and Intentia. Nordic Capital’s primary investment philosophy is to focus on new industrial combinations and developments together with the present management teams. Investors in Nordic Capital are a number of well known Nordic and international institutions.

CSFB Private Equity, the global private equity arm of Credit Suisse First Boston, is one of the largest managers of alternative assets in the world, with $26 billion of assets under management. CSFB Private Equity is comprised of investment funds that focus on domestic and international leveraged buyouts, mezzanine, real estate, venture capital, fund of funds and secondary funds. CSFB Private Equity includes the family of DLJ Merchant Banking funds and the Sprout funds as well as the Private Fund Group, which is dedicated to raising investment capital for global private investment firms. CSFB Private Equity maintains offices in New York, Los Angeles, Menlo Park, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, London, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

The Blackstone Group, a private investment bank with offices in New York and London, was founded in 1985. The firm has raised a total of approximately $24 billion for alternative asset investing since its formation, over $14 billion of which has been for private equity investing. The Blackstone Group’s six core businesses are Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory, Restructuring and Reorganization Advisory, Private Equity Investing, Private Real Estate Investing, Corporate Debt Investing, and Liquid Alternative Asset Management.

NIB Capital Private Equity is one of the largest dedicated private equity investors in the world, managing more than € 14.5 billion. About 80% of these funds is invested through other private equity funds. In addition, NIB Capital Private Equity invests directly in companies in Europe and the United States. NIB Capital Private Equity’s two main clients are ABP and PGGM, two of the largest pension funds in the world with total assets under management of about € 200 billion, respectively, as at December 31, 2001.