Press release i-center

Hamburg, 16th October, 2001 – The executive management board of i-center Elektrogrosshandels GmbH & Co KG, facing the prospect of the company being unable to meet its payment obligations, on Tuesday October 16th filed for insolvency at the Nuremberg District Court.

i-center is a wholesaler of electrical installation equipment and Siemens’ primary wholesaler for such products. It employs around 1,250 staff at some 90 locations throughout Germany. In 1998 the Industri Kapital 1997 Fund acquired i-center from Siemens and supported i-center’s development from an integrated corporate distribution arm towards a stand-alone electrical wholesaling company.

For some time i-center and Industri Kapital have conducted negotiations with potential strategic partners and investors as well as other key stakeholders in the company. Financing for the restructuring measures needed to ensure i-center’s competitiveness in Germany’s difficult electrical equipment wholesaling market and continued declining construction industry could not be secured. The Industri Kapital 1997 Fund has previously aimed to improve the situation of i-center and has participated in two prior refinancing rounds.

The preference now would be a solution, which maintains the viability of the business operations in the interests of staff, customers, suppliers and shareholders at i-center.

For further information please contact:

Detlef Dinsel, Director, Industri Kapital (Deutschland) GmbH +49-(0)40-369 88 50
Detlef.dinsel@industrikapital.com
www.industrikapital.com