AXA Private Equity announces closing of the sale of its shareholding in Birkel to Ebro Puleva Paris 4 Septembre 2007

BdW Beteiligungsgesellschaft für die deutsche Wirtschaft mbH & Co. KG (BdW KG), a German private equity fund managed by AXA Private Equity has announced the closing of the sale of its participation in Birkel Teigwaren GmbH, Waiblingen, together with the other shareholders to public listed Ebro Puleva S.A., Madrid, the leading group in the Spanish food sector. BdW KG originally entered into the engagement with Birkel in late 1998, when the company was purchased through a Management Buyout from the Danone Group.

Following the merger with its (former) competitor 3 Glocken GmbH, Weinheim, in 2000 as well as the acquisition of Möwe Teigwaren GmbH, Waren, in 2001, Birkel Group became the leading producer of (branded) pasta products in Germany with a market share of about 18%. The company is also present in the sauces sector and is one of the five best-known food brands among German consumers. In addition, Birkel holds significant positions in the Baltic Regions and Russia.

Birkel will substantially add to the geographical extension of Ebro Puleva and considerably strengthens their position on the German food market, in which Ebro Puleva is already present through its rice subsidiary Euryza with the brands Oryza and ReisFit. Together with the acquisition of Panzani in France (No. 1, 38% market share) and New World Pasta in the USA (No. 1 in the US and Canada), Birkel makes Ebro Puleva number one pasta manufacturer in all the countries in which it operates. “Birkel, with its position as leader of this sector in Germany, is a new breakthrough in the Group’s target of reaching the leading position in the world pasta market”, Jaime Carbo, CFO of Ebro Puleva, says.

Participants / Advisors in the transaction

AXA Private Equity : Dr. Marcus Reeg
Management : Dr. Werner Hildenbrand, Rolf Bausch
VK Mühlen AG : Rolf Brack, Rigobert Schneider
Ebro Puleva S.A. : Jaime Carbó Fernández

M&A advisor :

• Stamford Partners: Werner Paul Boerma, Daniel Frijns, Ludwin Lai

Legal (Sellers):

• Linklaters LLP.: Peter Erbacher, Ulrich Wolff, Oliver Rosenberg, Daniel Herrmann
• Sozietät Rittershaus: Rainer Dietmann
• Rechtsanwälte Gleiss Lutz: Dr. Martin Schockenhoff

Legal (Buyer):

• DLA Piper UK LLP.: Abdul Aziz Al-Yaqout, Martin Heinsius, Michael Magotsch, Jan-Joachim Dreyer, Dr Katia Niemann, Jens-Peter Eickhoff, Dr Tobias Kruse and Pascal Kremp

Financial Vendor Due Diligience (Seller): Ebner Stolz & Partner: Martina Schaaf

Financial Due Diligence (Buyer): Ernst & Young: Christian Dahl, Dietmar Kösling

About AXA Private Equity (www.axaprivateequity.com)

AXA Private Equity, an AXA Investment Managers company, is a world leader in private equity investments. It offers a wide selection of funds across a full range of asset classes: Buyout, Infrastructure, Expansion and Venture Capital, Co-Investment, Mezzanine and Funds of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary). The firm manages and advises private equity funds with assets in excess of €11.3 billion for major international investors. With offices in Paris, Frankfurt, London, Milan, New York and Singapore, AXA Private Equity is distinguished by the expertise of its staff and its international reach.

About Ebro Puleva

Ebro Puleva (www.ebropuleva.com) is the leading Group in the Spanish food sector in terms of turnover, profit, market capitalisation and international presence. Ebro Puleva is world leader in the rice sector, second worldwide in the pasta sector, the leading sugar group in Spain and number 1 on the Spanish dairy product market. It has leading brands in each of these sectors, including Panzani®, Ronzoni®, Skinner®, Healthy Harvest®, American Beauty®, Saint Giorgio®, Catelli® and Lancia® in pasta and sauces; Mahatma®, Success®, Carolina®, Minute Rice®, Lustucru®, Taureau Ailé®, Oryza®, Reis-Fit®, Riceland®, Danrice®, Risella®, Brillante®, Nomen®, La Cigala® and La Fallera® in the rice sector; Puleva®, Ram®, and El Castillo® in the dairy sector; and, finally, Azucarera® and Sucran® in the sugar sector.

Press contact AXA Private Equity

France
Jérémie Delecourt
Tel. +33 1 44 45 60 73
jeremie.delecourt@axa-im.com

Germany
Matthias Dezes
Tel. +49 (0)69 92 03 71 86
m.dezes@abfd.de