Deputy Chairman of the Board of Austrian OMV AG to Become New Strategic
Advisor for EQT Partners

Private equity group of Sweden’s Wallenberg family appoints Dr. Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, an additional experienced businessman, as Senior Advisor – Expanded consulting expertise targets active development of companies managed in the portfolio – Emphasis on successful medium-sized enterprises – Management of investment funds and equity investments with longstanding tradition of entrepreneurship

EQT Partners Beteiligungsberatung GmbH, Munich, has appointed Dr. Wolfgang
Ruttenstorfer, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Austrian oil and gas group OMV AG, to the position of Senior Advisor of EQT’s investment funds. Effective January 1, 2001, in this capacity, Dr. Ruttenstorfer will contribute his many years of expertise in business and politics to the valuation of equity investments.

Dr. Ruttenstorfer has been with the OMV Group for over twenty years. Since 1990, he has held several senior positions, including Chief Financial Officer. From 1997 until 1999, he was Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance in the government of Victor Klima, then Chancellor of Austria and Head of the Social Democratic Party.

The appointment of Dr. Ruttenstorfer underscores the commitment of EQT funds to expand its activities with a focus on the acquisition of larger medium-sized enterprises (“Mittelstand”) in German-speaking countries including Austria. Just recently, the private equity group of Sweden’s Wallenberg family expanded its Advisory Council to include a number of experienced top-level businessmen. Effective January 1, 2001, Dr. Mark Woessner, until now Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann AG and President of Bertelsmann Stiftung, as well as the outgoing CEO of Carl Zeiss
AG, Dr. Peter H. Grassmann, will act as Senior Advisors for EQT funds. Other
current members of the Advisory Council include, among others, Dr. Eckhard Cordes, Board Member of DaimlerChrysler AG and Head of the Commercial Vehicles Division, as well as, since the beginning of the year 2000, Dr. Günter Rexrodt, former German Minister for Economic Affairs. Further Senior Advisors at EQT Partners include Percy Barnevik, President of the Administrative Council of ABB, Harald Einsmann, former CEO of Procter & Gamble Europe, Leif Östling, CEO of Scania AB and Henning Kruse Petersen, Board Member of Nykredit A/S.

Strategic Knowledge of Senior Advisors Characterizes the Success of EQT funds
On the occasion of his appointment as Senior Advisor of EQT funds, Dr. Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer welcomed the strategic challenge inherent in the position, which serves to exemplify the quintessence of entrepreneurship.

The network of Senior Advisors counsels EQT funds in seeking investment opportunities and is involved in fostering the development of companies managed in the portfolio. The expertise of the Senior Advisors from industry, trade and finance is thus specifically available to facilitate the strategic reorientation and to solve structural and financial problems of the acquired companies.

EQT: Fund Management Based on Entrepreneurship
EQT Partners Beteiligungsberatung GmbH, founded in 1999, exclusively advises EQT funds specialized in investments in successfully operating medium-sized enterprises. These companies boast a strong market position as well as a high potential for growth in sales and earnings. Among the most important investment scenarios are financing growth, ownership changes and restructuring measures.

EQT’s portfolio currently includes four private equity funds which focus on investments in northern Europe with a total equity capital of EUR 1.3 billion. Preparations are being made for a fifth fund that will be endowed with an estimated EUR 1.8 - 2 billion. EQT funds advised by EQT Partners AB, Stockholm, were created in 1994 from Investor AB, established already in 1918 as the investment trust company of the Wallenberg family. In accordance with the tradition of the Wallenberg family, EQT considers itself an entrepreneurial owner with an industrial background. The acquired companies are actively guided and developed by experienced Advisors. EQT Partners AB operates as an investment consultancy for all EQT funds. The subsidiary in Munich, founded last year, is the first office outside the Nordic region. In
addition to Munich, the Group currently has offices in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki.

Visible Success of Investments as Partnerships
For investments in German companies, EQT will also make the Northern European
Investment Fund available. This fund, with a volume between EUR 1.8 - 2.0 billion, is expected to be closed by the end of 2000. Like the previously established EQT funds, the new fund will also invest in selected companies with a strong market position. Through a combination of industrial and financial expertise as well as the provision of capital, significant growth in sales and earnings can be achieved.

The investment philosophy of EQT calls for active management in addition to obtaining a majority holding or large stake. EQT aims to develop companies in close cooperation with the owners and to lay the foundations for further growth. Current examples for successful investments by EQT on a partnership basis include the acquisition of the Swedish company Duni, the going-public of the Finnish company Perlos at the Helsinki stock exchange and the successful sale of Sabroe (Denmark).