HSH Private Equity GmbH acquires fashion manufacturer gardeur ag, Mönchengladbach

Leading international brand manufacturer of womenswear and menswear Excellent outlook Management welcomes entry of HSH Private Equity and is given opportunity to acquire shareholding

Hamburg, May 21, 2008 - The investor HSH Private Equity (Hamburg) has concluded a contract on the acquisition of 100% of the shares of gardeur ag. The transaction, which is subject to anti-trust board approval, is expected to be completed as early as in the second quarter of 2008. Both parties agreed to refrain from disclosing details on the purchase price. The Frankfurt based investment bank Metzler was commissioned with the sale.

“I am convinced that in our investor HSH Private Equity we have found the best solution for continuing gardeur's corporate success story,” explained the Chairman of the Board of gardeur ag, Dr. Günter Roesner.

Commenting on behalf of the management Klaus Hiltrop, Sales Manager at gardeur ag, added: “We are pleased to have taken on board HSH Private Equity, a reliable partner oriented to long-term development, in order to implement our plans for the future.”

“With gardeur we are investing in the future of company with great quality awareness and outstanding development potential. We look forward to accompanying gardeur ag through its next stages of development and to supporting the management in exploiting this company’s growth potential,” explain the general managers of HSH Private Equity, Dr. Jörg Richard and Dr. Spyros Chaveles. To ensure continuity, it is also planned to give the management a shareholding in the company.

On gardeur ag

Headquartered in Mönchengladbach/Germany, gardeur ag has been a family-owned company until now. Established in 1920 the firm specialises in the production of modern and high-quality men’s and women’s trousers. The product portfolio also includes skirts and tops addressing the 35+ target group. The gardeur brand enjoys high recognition levels in the industry and amongst consumers. Since 1972 the company has been managed by Dr. Günter Roesner. Sales have grown continuously while earnings have always been good, totalling €104 million in 2007. Currently, gardeur employs 1,853 staff members in Germany and abroad. With exports accounting for 54 % of sales, the company is a multi-national fashion producer.

On HSH Private Equity GmbH, Hamburg

HSH Private Equity is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSH Nordbank AG and acts as a legally independent investment firm, particularly on the German and North European markets. The funds under management amount to over € 200 million. An active investor oriented towards long-term added value, HSH Private Equity invests in well-established SMEs. Its investment portfolio includes QVEDIS GmbH (previously: Siemens Building Technology electronics GmbH), KUNDO (measuring equipment for consumption data capture) and Spheros GmbH, Gilching (previously: Webasto Bus), to name but a few.

HSH Private Equity operates out of Hamburg with a Private Equity Team of currently 6 professionals, including Dr. Jörg Richard, Jens Biermann and Dr. Spyros Chaveles who handled this transaction and who are in charge of the firm’s further development. Commerzbank AG accompanied the sale on the part of HSH Private Equity.