April, 30th 2008

AUCTUS acquire a majority interest in DIETER BRAUN GMBH

Munich, April 2008 -- The funds managed by AUCTUS Management & Co. KG (Munich) have acquired a majority of Dieter Braun GmbH, located in Bayreuth. The former company owner will con-tinue to hold a strong minority stake.

Dieter Braun GmbH was founded by Dieter Braun in 1992 and has become one of the leading companies producing illuminated and backlit operating elements and systems for the automotive industry as well as medical and communication technology. With a market share of 70% in the premium car vehicle segment, Braun claims the market leadership in the area of backlit thumbwheels on air vents.

Today Dieter Braun GmbH has more than 800 employees and has sales offices and production plants not only in Europe, but also in Asia and North America. Through high quality production standards and exemplary customer relationships, aiming to insure a high level of customer satisfaction, Dieter Braun GmbH has doubled its turnover within the last three years.

"Partnering with a company such as Dieter Braun GmbH is part of AUCTUS strategy to further increase our engagement in the automotive sector," said Matthias Prauser, investment professional at AUCTUS. "To create more value in Dieter Braun GmbH we plan to strengthen its market position in the field of interior lighting systems and to improve production efficiency through the consolidation the existing production facilities."

"Throughout the transaction process AUCTUS showed deep sector knowledge and convinced me to be the right partner for the future," said Dieter Braun, founder of the Dieter Braun GmbH. "We are convinced AUCTUS will assist the ambitious growth of Dieter Braun GmbH and initiate and guide further value creation activities within the Braun-Group".

AUCTUS is one of the most active and reputed Private Equity funds in Germany. The focus is on management buy-outs, management buy-ins and owners' buy-outs in the Small- and Mid-cap segment. The AUCTUS funds take majority participations in owner successions, buy and build strategies and corporate carve-outs.

AUCTUS specialises in businesses with 20m to 150m EUR sales and transaction volumes between 10m and 50m EUR. The funds have purchased more than 20 companies in 2006 and 2007.

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