Capinordic A/S acquires Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S - published in Danish 25 june 2007 13:11

Translation
This text has been prepared in Danish and in English. In case of discrepancies,
the Danish text will prevail. 

Stock Exchange Announcement No.  18/2007

25 June 2007



Capinordic A/S acquires Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S

Summary
Capinordic A/S has concluded a conditional purchase agreement on the
acquisition of Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S. 

Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S focuses on asset management for affluent
Danes with cash assets exceeding DKK 25m. Steffen Rønn founded the company in
2004 following a career with Merrill Lynch. 

The purchase price has been fixed at DKK 140m and will be payable partly by a
maximum cash payment of DKK 42m and partly by the issue of new shares
corresponding to the residual amount. The division between shares and cash will
be determined upon execution of the agreement. The subscription price of the
new Capinordic A/S shares will be fixed as a weighted average over the last ten
trading days on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange as from the date of satisfaction
of the conditions for the agreement, including the approval by the Danish
Financial Supervisory Authority. A price adjustment mechanism is included in
the purchase agreement. 

The cash equity of Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S is DKK 29,113 thousand.


Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S
Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S was established in 2004 by Mr Rønn, who
founded his own investment service company in Denmark after a career with
Merrill Lynch. Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S focuses on asset management
for Danish investors with cash assets exceeding DKK 25m and on equity
investments. Today, Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S has an attractive
customer portfolio and DKK 1.6bn under management. Except for one customer, the
customers of Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S are different from the
customers of the Capinordic Group. 

Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S has eight employees and in the financial
year 2006 the company returned a profit of DKK 1,010 thousand, of which net
interest and fee income accounted for DKK 6,965 thousand, and a cash equity of
DKK 29,113 thousand. 


Portfolio managers and performance 
Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S disposes of a number of distinctive
profiles within asset management who specialise in equity investments. 

During the past 11 years with Merrill Lynch, Steffen Rønn has specialised in
investments in brand companies. Mr Rønn manages various portfolios with brand
companies such as McDonald's, Wal-Mart and Ralph Lauren. For the past eight
years the return on this portfolio has been significantly higher than the
leading S&P 500 index returns. 

Nikolaj Hoff has a Master's degree in political science and economics and has
experience with the acquisition and divestment of enterprises from his
employment with Aarsøe Nielsen & Partners/AT Kearney and with Gudme Raaschou
Investment Bank. Mr Hoff is the manager of the private equity company SR
Private Brands A/S owned by customers of Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S.
SR Private Brands A/S invests in minority shares in privately owned Danish
brand companies and participates actively in the future value creation of the
companies as a long-term investor at supervisory board level. Examples include
the children's clothing company Ticket to Heaven and Mammamia, a chain of
shopping centre cafés. 

Thorleif Jackson is MSc in engineering and has previously worked for the
engineering consulting services company NIRAS Rådgivende Ingeniører and for the
European Commission. Mr Jackson manages individual portfolios according to the
10+ concept, which are tailored portfolios consisting of shares in companies
with a historical increase in EPS and turnover per share of at least 10% per
year. Mr Jackson also manages a global model portfolio for Nordnet Bank AB and
a Danish model portfolio for Aktionærens Nyhedsbrev, a Danish newsletter for
investors. Returns on all three portfolios have been higher than comparable
indices. In addition to this, Mr Jackson writes articles for a number of
printed media, including the Danish Shareholders Association's member magazine. 


Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S in the Capinordic Group
With the acquisition of Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S, Capinordic A/S
will realise its strategic objective of launching an asset management company
in Denmark, and at the same it will acquire the core competence within equity
investment that will make it possible for the Group to offer affluent customers
a wider range of products as well as specialised consulting and tailored asset
management within equity investment at an internationally competitive level. 

Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S will be included in the Group as a wholly
owned subsidiary. The Capinordic Group expects to submit an application for a
licence to operate an investment management company on the basis of Steffen
Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S as the legal entity. The Capinordic Group expects
to apply for and receive the licence to operate an investment management
company by the end of 2007/beginning of 2008. 

Synergies
Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S will collaborate closely with Capinordic
Bank A/S on the development, sale and marketing of various ‘asset allocation'
strategies, which are to be marketed to the customers of Capinordic Bank A/S,
other banks, pension funds, insurance companies, and others. 

Through Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S, the Capinordic Group will gain:

1. A number of attractive asset management products focused on equity
   investment and savings for affluent customers 

2. Substantial knowledge capital within equity investment and analyses as well
   as sale of savings and asset management products

3. A customer portfolio comprising affluent persons, who are also the target
   group of Capinordic Bank A/S

4. Corporate finance activities 

5. A platform that attracts leading asset managers through:
   a. Compensation directly dependent on the asset manager's performance and
   financial importance to the Capinordic Group
   b.Freedom to manage his or her portfolio according to individual investment
   principles
   c. Opportunity of naming his or her own strategy with his or her name and of
   ongoing contact with various media


Purchase price and payment 
Capinordic A/S has concluded a conditional purchase agreement on the
acquisition of Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S after having completed a
satisfactory due diligence review. 

The purchase price has been fixed at DKK 140m and will be payable partly by a
maximum cash payment of DKK 42m and partly by the issue of new shares
corresponding to the residual amount. The division between shares and cash will
be determined upon execution of the agreement. The subscription price for the
new Capinordic A/S shares will be fixed as a weighted average over the last ten
trading days on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange as from the date of satisfaction
of the conditions for the agreement, including the approval by the Danish
Financial Supervisory Authority. A price adjustment mechanism is included in
the purchase agreement. 

A significant part of the new shares in Capinordic A/S, which will be paid as
part of the purchase price, cannot be traded for a period of three years from
the execution of the share transfer agreement. 

In accordance with IFRS 3, Steffen Rønn Fondsmæglerselskab A/S will become
included in the consolidated financial statements of the Group as from the date
when the conditions for the agreement are satisfied. Accordingly, Capinordic
finds no reason at present to revise the Company's announced expectations of a
profit before amortisation, depreciation, impairments and tax at a level of DKK
150m. 


Yours sincerely


Lasse Lindblad
CEO





For further information, please contact:
Lasse Lindblad, CEO
+45 8816 3000, 
+45 4094 0708, 
info@capinordic.com