The Carlyle Group Announces the Successful Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Transics

London – The Carlyle Group, the global private equity firm, today announces the successful Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Transics, a major European provider of on-board computers and fleet management solutions for the transport and logistics sector. The offering of 2,628,571 shares on Eurolist by Euronext Brussels was priced at €17.50 per share (ticker: TRAN) and was oversubscribed by more than ten times.

Transics was founded in May 1990 and pioneered the development of total fleet management solutions for the transport sector. Today Transics solutions, based on the Quattro Plus on-board computer, a real-time GPRS communication and back-office software platform, are currently built into more than 35,000 trucks in over 800 transport companies. In 2006, Transics was awarded the ‘Flemish Government Prize for the Most Promising Company of 2006’.

In May 2006, Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) acquired a majority shareholding in Transics and together with senior management, Walter Mastelinck and Ludwig Lemenu, began actively working on further expansion of the European activities of Transics. The established market leader in the Benelux and France, Transics pushed further into Spain, Germany, Scandinavia and Central and Eastern Europe winning several major contracts. In April 2007, Carlyle supported Transics in the acquisition of Delta Industry Service (DIS), a French provider of IT solutions for the retrieval, processing and archiving of tachograph data. The takeover enabled Transics to expand its product range and further reinforce its position in France.

Walter Mastelinck, CEO of Transics, comments on the listing, “We are delighted by the success of our IPO. Our strengthened capital base will support our growth strategy and enable us to continue the internationalisation of the company. We would like to thank Carlyle for their support in providing both the expertise and resources to help Transics get to this point and prepare for its future as a public company.”

Vladimir Lasocki, Director, The Carlyle Group, “The IPO has given Transics the firepower it needs to lead consolidation in the industry and expand its reach across Europe. We would like to thank Walter Mastelinck, Ludwig Lemenu and the Transics team for their hard work and dedication. CETP remains a significant shareholder in the business, and we are confident Transics will continue to go from strength to strength.”

David FitzGerald, Managing Director of The Carlyle Group and co-head of CETP adds, “We are delighted with this outcome. This IPO constitutes the first major exit for CETP. The success of our investment in Transics verifies our fund’s strategy focussed on mid-cap technology companies with the potential to become European or global leaders in their field.”

Fortis and ING acted as Joint Lead Managers, Dexia Bank Belgium as Co-Manager.