Jpel Priv Eqty Regulatory News (JPEL)

17 Mar 2008 11:17

Bear Stearns Private Equity Limited17 March 2008 Bear Stearns Private Equity Limited - Notice to Shareholders 17 March 2008 Bear Stearns Private Equity Limited ("BSPEL") wanted to take this opportunity toaddress many of the recent announcements and press reports surrounding The BearStearns Companies Inc. ("BSC") and its proposed acquisition by JPMorgan Chase &Co. ("JPMC"). The Board of Directors of BSPEL would like to remind Shareholders that BSPEL isa separate legal entity controlled by an independent board of directors, threeout of four of whom are independent from the investment manager. (BSPEL'sinvestment manager is Bear Stearns Asset Management, Inc., a subsidiary of BSC.BSPEL is not a subsidiary of Bear Stearns Asset Management. We would also like to emphasize the following key points: - BSPEL's assets are held in safe custody with HSBC. BSPEL'sadministrator, HSBC Management (Guernsey) Limited, is holding in safe custodyover 99% of the Company's USD$504 million in investments and cash. The remainingless than 1% of its cash and cash equivalents are held by The Bear StearnsCompanies Inc. and its subsidiaries in BSPEL accounts. JPMC has agreed toguarantee all client accounts held by BSC. - BSPEL is not leveraged. BSPEL has no leverage facility at the BSPELCompany level. - BSPEL is well diversified. BSPEL's private equity assets aredistributed across 1,000 private companies managed by over 81 private equitymanagers around the world. - No shareholder control. Bear Stearns Asset Management and its relatedentities own 12,571,429 million Equity Shares of BSPEL, which comprises only 4.3per cent of the total NAV as at 29 February 2008. Bear Stearns Asset ManagementInc. has no special rights or standing. JPMC will own all of the sharesfollowing the closing of the BSC acquisition. - Strong performance. Since inception, BSPEL's Net Asset Value perEquity Share has increased 67.7%, representing a net annualized return of 21.4%as at 29 February 2008. - BSPEL's investment strategy and risk profile remain unchanged. Wecontinue to focus on investing with high-quality fund managers throughout theworld, with an emphasis on purchasing secondary interests in funds and makingselective co-investments. In addition, BSPEL continues to emphasizediversification in order to minimize the risk associated with over concentrationin any individual fund or investment vehicle. For information about the proposed acquisition of Bear Stearns Companies Inc. byJP Morgan, please view the press releases section on www.jpmorganchase.com. Enquiries: JPMorgan Cazenove, Broker to BSPEL - 020 7588 2828 Bear Stearns Asset Management, Manager to BSPEL - 1 212 272 7732 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange