LONDON -- The Board of Oakley Capital Investments Limited (the "Company"), today announces the placing of 100,000,000 ordinary shares at £1.00 per ordinary share with warrants attached on a 1 for 2 basis, raising gross proceeds of £100 million. All of the ordinary shares and warrants in the Company have today been admitted to trading on AIM. Collins Stewart Europe Limited acted as broker to the placing.

The Company has been set up to invest primarily in Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. (the “Fund”), a new private equity fund being established by a team of experienced investment professionals led by Peter Dubens, executive chairman of Pipex Communications plc and former chairman of 365 Media Group plc. The Fund’s investment advisory team has an average of 10 years’ successful investment experience, in M&A, private equity and operational management.

The Fund will invest primarily in mid-market buy-outs in the UK and Europe. It will seek to acquire controlling positions in companies with scope for performance improvement, and in industries with strong underlying growth drivers and the potential for consolidation. The Fund will utilise the investment advisory team’s proven ability to self-source transactions and actively manage portfolio companies to improve operational performance. The Fund will target equity transactions in the range of £20 to £100 million and will seek to deliver gross IRR on its investments in excess of 25% per annum and a blended gross multiple of three times.

The Fund is seeking commitments of up to £375 million from limited partners. The directors and employees of the investment advisory team have committed to invest £12 million of their own capital in the Fund. The first closing of the Fund is expected to be shortly after admission.

Oakley Capital Investments Ltd.