eQ Oyj - Tender offer

eQ PLC ACQUIRES ICECAPITAL’S ASSET MANAGEMENT BUSINESS

eQ PLC                                                                         
  STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 



20 November 2012, at 8:30 a.m.







eQ PLC ACQUIRES ICECAPITAL'S ASSET MANAGEMENT BUSINESS



eQ Plc acquires asset management business from ICECAPITAL Securities Ltd,
excluding real estate private equity fund business, through the acquisition
closed on 19 November 2012. The acquisition is a further step in eQ's strategy
to become a leading asset manager in Finland. ICECAPITAL offers asset
management services mainly in Finland, however it has also offices in Sweden
and Denmark. The acquired companies employ approximately 30 employees. eQ pays
enterprise value (EV) of EUR 11.0 million, and the total purchase price for the
shares is estimated to be EUR 14.1 million. eQ will finance the acquisition
from its existing cash reserves and from bank financing. 



eQ's and ICECAPITAL's products and services fit together well and complement
each other. The asset management organization created through the acquisition
is one of the most experienced in Finland. Through the acquisition eQ's assets
under management will increase from EUR 3.4 billion to EUR 6.0 billion. The
acquisition is also expected to significantly increase the profitability of eQ
Asset Management. 



Acquired business includes mutual funds and discretionary asset management and
also structured products and private equity fundraising. Customers are mainly
institutional investors and high net worth individuals. The net sales of the
acquired companies in 2011 amounted to approximately 7.3 million and the
operating profit amounted to approximately EUR 1.3 million. The 2011 figures do
not include operations that were discontinued during the financial year. The
unaudited net sales for the period from January 1 to September 30, 2012 totaled
approximately 5.0 million and the operating profit was approximately EUR 1.0
million. The acquired entity has total assets of approximately EUR 6.5 million. 



”This acquisition is a significant step towards our goal to become a leading
asset manager in Finland. eQ and ICECAPITAL complement each other well and will
together form a strong and experienced asset management team. We seek both
return and cost synergies as a result of the acquisition. Our plan is to
integrate the acquired business into eQ and combine operational functions as
quickly as possible. In the future, all business functions will be under the eQ
brand”, CEO Janne Larma comments. 



The transaction will be implemented as an acquisition, whereby eQ Plc acquires
ICECAPITAL Asset Management Ltd and its fully owned subsidiaries, ICECAPITAL
Fund Management Company Ltd, ICECAPITAL Life Ltd and ICECAPITAL Asset
Management (Norway) AS as well as the following subsidiaries, where the
personnel owns the: ICECAPITAL Financial Products Ltd, ICECAPITAL Asset
Management AB (Sweden) and ICECAPITAL Asset Management (Denmark) A/S. The aim
is to execute business transfers in early 2013 where the business of ICECAPITAL
Asset Management Ltd is transferred to eQ Asset Management Ltd and business of
ICECAPITAL Fund Management Company Ltd to eQ Fund Management Company Ltd. After
this the companies will be merged during the spring of 2013. 



Castrén & Snellman Attorneys Ltd acted as the legal advisor to eQ Plc in the
transaction. 





Helsinki 20 November 2012





eQ Plc



Board of Directors







Additional information: Janne Larma, CEO, tel. +358 40 500 4366



Distribution: NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, www.eQ.fi







eQ Group is a Finnish publicly listed group of companies that specialises in
asset management and corporate finance operations. eQ Asset Management offers a
wide range of asset management services (including private equity funds) for
both institutional investors and private individuals. The assets managed by the
Group total approximately EUR 6.0 billion after the acquisition announced on 20
November 2012. 

Advium Corporate Finance Ltd, which is part of the Group, offers services
related to mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions and equity
capital markets. 



More information about the Group is available on our website at www.eQ.fi.