Pohjola Pankki Oyj - Company Announcement

Pohjola Asset Management to Internationalise Its Private Equity Fund Business

Pohjola Bank plc
COMPANY RELEASE
Release category: Company Announcement
17 November 2010 at 09.45 am

Pohjola Asset Management to Internationalise Its Private Equity Fund Business

Pohjola Bank plc (Pohjola) will buy a 40% shareholding in Access Capital
Partners Group SA (Access Capital), a manager and advisor of private equity
funds of funds, for EUR 28 million. At the same time, Pohjola will sell Pohjola
Private Equity Funds Ltd (PPEF) to Access Capital for EUR 16 million. The
completion of the transactions requires regulatory approval from GSFC in
Guernsey and AMF in France.

PPEF will continue managing its existing funds and its key employees will remain
in Helsinki as part of Access Capital Partners Group. Access Capital will become
a Pohjola associated company whose financial results will be included in those
of Asset Management and Pohjola in proportion to the shareholding.

The transaction will improve Pohjola's consolidated profit for 2010 on a non-
recurring basis by roughly EUR 5 million. The transaction will have no major
effect on Pohjola Group's financial results in the coming years.

The transaction  will strengthen private equity fund business service
capabilities within Asset Management while representing a major step forward in
Asset Management's internationalisation process. The merging Access Capital and
PPEF pursue a similar strategy and are an excellent match.

As a result of this transaction, we will enhance our expertise and broaden our
customer base in Europe and the USA. The post-transaction Access Capital will
have assets of EUR 4.5 billion under management and number among the leading
managers of European private equity funds of funds specialising in buyouts of
SMEs, says Mikko Koskimies, Executive Vice President, Pohjola Asset Management
Ltd.

According to the agreement, Pohjola will first acquire 40% of Access Capital.
CapMan Plc will sell 30% and managing partners 10% of the company's shares,
after which team members of Access Capital will hold 55% and CapMan Plc 5% of
Access Capital shares. The parties have also agreed that Pohjola will increase
its shareholding to 45% in 2013. Pohjola's shareholding will stay under 50%.

The current number of Pohjola Private Equity Funds employees totals nine in
Finland and that of Access Capital 32 based in Paris, Brussels, London and
Munich.

- The private equity investment business is based on highly experienced, skilled
and motivated personnel. Following the acquisition, we will be able to provide
our private equity clients with a markedly larger number of investment
alternatives. Private equity investors particularly appreciate the fact that
team members will remain majority shareholders.  The new company will have
extensive resources and product range and an operating model built around a
strong customer focus, adds Samuli Sipilä, Managing Director of Pohjola Private
Equity Funds Ltd.

Pohjola Bank plc

Carina Geber-Teir
Chief Communications Officer

For more information, please contact:
Mikko Koskimies, Executive Vice President, Pohjola Asset Management Ltd, tel.
+358 (0)10 252 2295
Tarja Ollilainen, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, Pohjola Bank plc,
tel. +358 (0)10 252 4494

DISTRIBUTION
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
London Stock Exchange
Major media
pohjola.fi, op.fi

Pohjola
Pohjola is a Finnish financial services group which provides its corporate and
institutional customers with a diverse range of banking, non-life insurance and
asset management services and private individuals with an extensive range of
non-life insurance and private banking services. Pohjola Bank plc (Pohjola) is
part of OP-Pohjola Group, the leading financial services group in Finland.
Pohjola Asset Management Ltd is part of Pohjola Group and responsible for asset
management services for OP-Pohjola Group's major institutional and private
clients. Its 168 asset management experts manage assets worth over EUR 35
billion. The company is the leading asset manager for Finnish private and
institutional investors. During the almost four years of operation, Pohjola
Private Equity Funds Ltd within Asset Management has become one of the most
significant private equity firms in the Nordic countries. It has assets of
around EUR 1.6 billion under management.

CapMan
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,
Moscow and Luxembourg. CapMan was established in 1989 and its B shares have been
listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 2001. www.capman.com

Access Capital Partners
Access Capital Partners (www.access-capital-partners.com) is a leading,
independent European provider of private equity funds of funds with assets of
around € 2.9 Billion under management. Since inception in 1999, Access' stable
management team has remained disciplined and focused on the proactive screening,
selection and management of European small to mid-market buy-out funds of funds
and mandates. Access' combined primary and secondary approach to the management
of funds of funds has been a key differentiator. The firm currently employs 32
people including 8 partners operating or advising from Paris, Brussels, Munich
and London. www.access-capital-partners.com.


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