Fortis Private Equity acquires Outside Broadcast through a Management Buy-Out

Brussels/Utrecht, 3 May 2006, Fortis Private Equity, a Business Line of Merchant Banking, has acquired all shares in Outside Broadcast together with Timo Koch, the company’s former commercial manager. The company provides TV-facilities and services to broad-casters and production houses.
Koch becomes the new Managing Director, while co-founder Ludo Kerkhofs will remain closely involved in Outside Broadcast’s further expansion in the role of executive director.
“The European television market is undergoing a transition from the present PAL Standard Definition to the new High Definition standard,” said Koch. “Our new partnership with Fortis Private Equity will strengthen our shareholdership and give us the financial scope we need to continue playing our role as an early adapter in our investment-intensive business. To strengthen our market position we need to prepare for continuous investments and the training of qualified personnel. I am delighted we have been able to keep our know-how under Belgian ownership and will be able to build upon it further”.
Brigitte Boone, CEO of Fortis Private Equity, added: “The MBO of Outside Broadcast perfectly illustrates our investment strategy of focusing on medium-sized enterprises of this kind that have market leadership and healthy growth ambitions. Outside Broadcast is an important market player in Belgium in the business of providing facilities for producing and recording TV programmes and airing live events. Thanks to its technological know-how in the High Definition domain the company is excellently placed to acquire a significant position in Europe’s fast-growing market for High Definition recording and production. As an active partner we want to use our international network to support the company’s management in fulfilling its European growth plans. Since the start of 2005 we have completed various buyouts in Belgium, including Packing Creative Systems and Novy”.
About Outside Broadcast
Multi-camera company Outside Broadcast was established in 1989 by Ludo Kerkhofs and Willy Van Soest and has its registered office at Rotselaar in Belgium. Together with subsidiary A.T.S., Outside Broadcast has 75 employees and recorded 2005 sales of approximately €10 million with an EBITDA margin in excess of 20%.
The company’s core business consists of producing TV programmes on location and broadcasting live events, like sports competitions and major concerts. In 2002, the company became one of the first European providers of High Definition facilities. Today, it owns ten mobile production units, including four equipped with High Definition equipment. Outside Broadcast has positioned itself as a high-end facility-providing company with a technological edge for large TV and DVD recordings.
Outside Broadcast has customers in Belgium and throughout Europe as well as in the USA and Japan. Recent references include the Belgacom/Woestijnvis TV contract for the Belgian soccer competition, the final of the 2005 Champions’ League in Istanbul, the Tour de France, the last two Olympic Games plus almost all summer festivals in Belgium.
More information is available at www.outside-broadcast.be.

About Fortis:
Fortis is an international financial services provider engaged in banking and insurance. We offer our personal, business and institutional customers a comprehensive package of products and services through our own channels, in collaboration with intermediaries and through other distribution partners.
With a market capitalisation of EUR 38.7 billion (30/04/2006), Fortis ranks among the twenty largest financial institutions in Europe. Our sound solvency position, our presence in 50 countries and our dedicated, professional workforce of 57,000 enable us to combine global strength with local flexibility and provide our clients with optimum support. More information is available on www.fortis.com
Merchant Banking is a division of Fortis and manages the global relationships with banks, institutional investors, fund managers, professional traders and large international corporate accounts. Merchant Banking offers a wide range of financial products, advisory services and other customized solutions.
Fortis Private Equity, part of Fortis Merchant Banking, manages all of Fortis’s private equity assets. Its total direct and indirect investment portfolio amounts to upwards of EUR 1.1 billion. Private Equity teams based in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Asia concentrate on direct investments. Fortis Private Equity is also building up a diversified fund-of-funds portfolio through indirect investments, principally in buy-out and capital venture funds in North America, Europe and, since recently, Asia.
More information is available at www.merchantbanking.fortis.com

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