Last checked at 
25 May 2016 10:21
News Release
Guernsey, 25 May 2016
Princess NAV increases by 2.0% in April 2016
· Princess Private Equity Holding Limited's ("Princess") net asset value ("NAV") increased by 2.0% to EUR 9.72
· Overall portfolio developments were positive (+2.7%) while currency movements were negative (-0.3%)
· Princess received distributions of EUR 5.7 million from exited investments and invested EUR 9.0 million
Portfolio companies VAT Group AG (VAT) and Fermaca were amongst the largest drivers of NAV performance in April. As previously announced, VAT completed a highly oversubscribed initial public offering on the SIX Swiss Exchange and began trading on 14 April 2016 at CHF 45 per share, which valued the company at a total market capitalization of CHF 1.35 billion. During the listing and subsequent exercise of the over-allotment option, Partners Group sold a portion of its shares in VAT and now holds 29.3% of the company. Furthermore, Fermaca's valuation was written up to reflect additional equity raised for recent successful tenders to develop more pipelines. In March 2016, Fermaca won the bid for the Laguna-Aguascalientes project, which comprises the construction, operation and maintenance of a 450km natural gas pipeline that passes through central and western Mexico.
During April, Princess invested a total of EUR 9.0 million, of which EUR 1.3 million was allocated to Hortifruti. Founded in 1989, Hortifruti is a Brazilian market-leading health food retailer with over 40 stores across Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo and Espírito Santo, offering fresh produce that includes fruit and vegetables, dairy products, groceries and meats. Post-acquisition, Partners Group intends to work with the management of Hortifruti in various value creation initiatives, including the opening of new stores, expansion of its private labels and the expansion of its distribution network. Also, Princess made a follow-on investment of EUR 7.4 million in Permotio International Learning Sarl (Permotio) to fund the acquisition of a group of five schools in Latin America. Permotio was formed in 2013 to create a leading international private schools group through a "buy & build" strategy, in conjunction with a proven management team. To-date, Permotio has acquired a total of 14 schools in Spain, the UK, UAE and Latin America, in aggregate providing high quality education to more than 12'000 students.
Distributions during the month came predominantly from Princess' legacy third party fund portfolio (EUR 3.7 million). Princess also received proceeds of EUR 1.1 million from its investment in AWAS Aviation, an Ireland-based aircraft leasing and trading company, following the sale of 46 aircraft to Macquarie Group. The sale was part of the previously announced transaction in March 2015, comprising of a portfolio of 87 aircraft. This is part of a series of ongoing efforts to optimize AWAS' asset concentrations through purchases of new aircraft, asset-backed securitizations as well as disposals, with the goal of maximizing value of the company ahead of a full exit.
Further information is available in the monthly report which can be accessed via:
http://www.princess-privateequity.net/financialreports.
Ends.
About Princess
Princess is an investment holding company founded in 1999 and domiciled in Guernsey. It invests, inter alia, in private equity and private debt investments. Princess is advised in its investment activities by Partners Group, a global private markets investment management firm with over EUR 46 billion in investment programs under management in private equity, private debt, private real estate and private infrastructure. Princess aims to provide shareholders with long-term capital growth and an attractive dividend yield. Princess is traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: PEY). Further information: www.princess-privateequity.net.
Contacts
Princess Private Equity Holding Limited:
princess@princess-privateequity.net
www.princess-privateequity.net
Registered Number: 35241
Investor relations contact
George Crowe
Phone: +44 (0)20 7575 2771
E-mail: george.crowe@partnersgroup.com
Media relations contact
Partners Group
Jenny Blinch
Phone: +41 41 784 65 26
E-mail: jenny.blinch@partnersgroup.com
www.partnersgroup.com
This document does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities and neither is it intended to be an investment advertisement or sales instrument of Princess. The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes must inform themselves about, and observe any such restrictions on the distribution of this document. In particular, this document and the information contained therein are not for distribution or publication, neither directly nor indirectly, in or into the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan.
This document may have been prepared using financial information contained in the books and records of the product described herein as of the reporting date. This information is believed to be accurate but has not been audited by any third party. This document may describe past performance, which may not be indicative of future results. No liability is accepted for any actions taken on the basis of the information provided in this document. Neither the contents of Princess' website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on Princess' website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.