Mercapital and The Carlyle Group Reach Agreement to Acquire Arsys

Barcelona – Global private equity firm, The Carlyle Group and Mercapital today announced that they have reached an agreement to acquire Arsys, the Spanish provider of web hosting and domain registration services, for €160 million. Carlyle and Mercapital will invest equally to acquire majority ownership of Arsys, while the founders of the company will retain a minority. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

Founded in 1996 by Luis Ignacio Cacho and Nicolás Iglesias, Arsys has become the dominant player in the Spanish domain registration and web hosting market, as well as one of the major European companies in the sector. With more than 550,000 domains registered, 170,000 clients, 250 employees and commercial activity in Spain, France and Portugal, Arsys provides services to companies located in over 100 different countries. In 2007, the company expects to generate revenues in excess of €40 million.

Luis Ignacio Cacho, President and Founder of Arsys said, “Bringing Mercapital and Carlyle into Arsys concludes the process of management professionalisation we began in 2001. The transaction will reinforce the competitive strengths of our enterprise: the identity and corporate culture, the team and our presence in La Rioja.

“The sector expertise, deep financial resources and successful track record of The Carlyle Group and Mercapital makes them the ideal partners to support the expansion of Arsys and help realise the potential of the company by strengthening our competitive position.”

Fernando Chueca, Associate Director of The Carlyle Group commented, “Having analyzed a great number of opportunities in this exciting sector, both in Spain and across Europe, we are delighted to have been able invest in Arsys, which we believe has huge potential.”

David Estefanell, Partner at Mercapital added, “With this investment, which is the first of our most recent fund raised in January 2007, Mercapital reinforces its co-operation with Spanish companies that are leaders in their sector. Both Carlyle and Mercapital will support the management team of Arsys to deliver its business plan.”

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About Mercapital
Mercapital is one of the leading private equity companies in Spain, with 20 years of experience. Following the closing of its last fund, Mercapital Spanish Buy-Out Fund III (€550 million), Mercapital advises the biggest family of private equity funds dedicated exclusively to the Iberian Peninsula, with total funds under management in excess of €1.4 billion.

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