Charles Taylor Regulatory News (CTR)

Date: 23 July 2015

On behalf of: Charles Taylor plc ("Charles Taylor" or the "Company")

Embargoed until: 0700hrs

Charles Taylor plc

Acquisition of significant minority stake in Fadata AD

Charles Taylor plc announces today that it and The Riverside Company ("Riverside"), a global private equity firm, have collectively entered into an agreement to acquire a majority interest in the owner of Fadata AD ("Fadata"), a specialist provider of software solutions to the global insurance industry. Fadata provides an end-to-end policy administration system (INSIS), used by many life, general insurance and health insurance businesses. The INSIS platform was top rated in both Gartner's and Celent's reviews of Policy Administration Systems in 2014.

The establishment of this joint venture between Charles Taylor, Riverside and the management of Fadata forms part of Charles Taylor's overall business strategy to further develop its professional service business lines both organically and through acquisitions, joint ventures and business investments. This is Charles Taylor's first transaction since its Rights Issue in March 2015.

Charles Taylor has a well-established insurance technology services business, providing specialist and bespoke technology solutions along with systems development and implementation support for numerous insurance-related clients across the global insurance market. By entering into this joint venture, Charles Taylor will both support the growth of Fadata's software business globally and further expand its own capabilities and service offering for its insurance-related clients worldwide.

Under the joint venture Charles Taylor will acquire a 31.25% equity share of REF Wisdom Limited, a newly incorporated UK resident holding company, with the 68.75% majority share of REF Wisdom Limited being acquired by Riverside. REF Wisdom Limited will own an 80% equity share of REF Wisdom 2 Limited which in turn will own 100% of the equity of Fadata. The remaining 20% of REF Wisdom 2 Limited will be owned by the management of Fadata. Charles Taylor's interest could be diluted if it fails to take up any future rights offer.

Charles Taylor's investment in REF Wisdom Limited is €5.1m, to be met from existing cash resources. The gross and net assets of REF Wisdom Limited will be €16.1m on completion. In 2014, the unaudited adjusted Fadata results were revenue of €11.7m and EBITDA of €4.4m. The transaction is expected to complete by October 2015.

The terms of the joint venture agreement entitle Riverside to realise REF Wisdom Limited's investment in Fadata at some time in the future; Charles Taylor may be required to dispose of part or all of its holding as part of the same transaction. Charles Taylor will also have the opportunity to submit a bid to acquire part or all of the other parties' holdings at that time should it so wish.

David Marock, Group Chief Executive Officer, Charles Taylor said:

"The global insurance technology market is growing rapidly with increasing demand from insurers to replace legacy systems, bring new products to market quickly and capitalise on the potential of big data. With our support and market presence, we believe that Fadata is well-positioned to become a world leader in the global insurance-related software market."

"A sizeable proportion of Charles Taylor's business is already dedicated to providing insurance technology solutions and services to insurance clients across the globe. This joint venture will enable us, working closely with Fadata, to accelerate both Fadata's and our growth in the global technology market."

 "I am particularly pleased that we will be investing in Fadata alongside Riverside. Riverside has completed more than 25 investments in its software and information technology specialisation and has experts with substantial experience in growing software companies."

Martin Scott, Partner, The Riverside Company said:

"We are very excited to be making this investment in Fadata alongside Charles Taylor. Fadata's flagship product, INSIS, is a flexible state-of-the-art modular software solution for insurance providers, which has already been adopted by insurance businesses across the world. Charles Taylor's presence and reputation in the global insurance market will enable us to work together to accelerate Fadata's growth to become one of the market-leading insurance software solutions providers globally."

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

About Charles Taylor

Charles Taylor plc is a leading provider of professional services to clients across the global insurance market. The Group has been providing services since 1884 and today employs over 1,200 staff in 69 offices spread across 28 countries in the UK, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The Group offers services, principally on a fee-based model and operates through three businesses - Management, Adjusting and Insurance Support Services. Charles Taylor also owns insurers, creating value through select acquisitions and operational efficiency.

Further information is available at www.ctplc.com.

About The Riverside Company

The Riverside Company is a global private equity firm focused on investing in growing enterprises valued at up to $300 million/€200 million. The firm's global portfolio includes more than 75 companies. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 380 transactions.

About Fadata

Fadata was established in 1990. It has a strong profile in information system development and implementation of software related projects. Its reputation was built by providing high quality engineering solutions and services to companies from the Financial, Public, and Utilities sector. INSIS, Fadata's flagship product, is a flexible state-of-the-art modular software solution that provides full coverage of all aspects of insurance business area both horizontally and vertically. Headquartered in Bulgaria, Fadata provides global distribution system and supports subsidiaries as well as partners' network in more than 30 countries.

Statements made in this announcement that look forward in time or that express management's beliefs, expectations or estimates regarding future occurrences are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect the Group's current expectations concerning future events and actual results may differ materially from current expectations or historical results.