Jul 10 2006

AnaCap Financial Partners Builds Up Resources

AnaCap Financial Partners (“AnaCap”), the recently launched specialist private equity fund focused on financial services throughout Europe, has added four investment professionals to its team. The new members come from diverse backgrounds including private equity, investment banking and strategic financial consulting. Joining the team are two Directors Amber Hilkene and Justin Sulger and two Associates Diego Pace and Stephen Pulley.

Amber Hilkene joins AnaCap as Director of Corporate Development. Prior to joining the team she was with The Gores Group, a US private equity fund, responsible for European Business Development. Having joined Gores in 1999, she came to London to open their European office in 2004. There Amber was responsible for sourcing and identifying acquisitions, with several successful completed for the firm. Previously she worked as an Associate in the Private Clientele Group of CIBC World Markets where she was responsible for research and marketing activities. Amber has a dual Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Business Law from California State University. Her responsibilities will include deal sourcing, pipeline management and investor relations.

Justin Sulger joins AnaCap as Director of Business Services. Prior to joining he was a Vice President in Morgan Stanley’s Securitised Products Group, where he worked on deal structuring and origination, with significant focus on large commercial property loan restructurings. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director of Lunar Group, an investment company focused on developing start-up businesses in China, primarily in technology, media and entertainment. After receiving his BA from Princeton University in the U.S., Justin spent 5 years at Goldman Sachs in New York and London, structuring and marketing derivative products in fixed income, currencies and commodities. His responsibilities will include operational oversight and strategic development of portfolio companies.

Diego Pace joins AnaCap as Associate of Risk & Liability Management. Most recently, he was an associate at the London office of Integrated Finance Ltd, an advisory and asset management firm. Prior to that, he was an M&A and debt advisory analyst at KPMG Corporate Finance in the London and Buenos Aires offices. He began his career as a fixed income analyst at brokerage firm MacKinlay & Asoc. in Argentina. He holds an M.B.A. from London Business School and an M.A. in Finance from Torcuato Di Tella University in Argentina. His responsibilities will include supporting portfolio companies in liability and risk modeling, product financing and development as well as financial due diligence and ongoing monitoring of AnaCap’s portfolio company financial performances.

Stephen Pulley joins AnaCap as Associate of Business Services. Prior to joining AnaCap, Steve worked as a management consultant for Mercer Oliver Wyman, a consulting firm dedicated to the financial services sector. During his time at Mercer Oliver Wyman, Steve managed a broad range of engagements for financial institutions on strategy, operations, M&A and risk management from their London and New York offices, serving clients in the UK, continental Europe, the US and Asia. Steve holds a BA (hons) in mathematical sciences from Oxford University. He will be focusing on both deal execution as well as strategy and operations within AnaCap portfolio companies.

“Developing our team is the most critical variable to the firms achieving its overall success. The recent additions have both specific professional skills as well as innate personal characteristics of team players and long term commitment that we believe are essential to our continued progression and our unified approach”. Said Steve Barry, Principal of AnaCap.

About AnaCap Financial Partners LLP

AnaCap is a €300 million specialist private equity fund focusing on pan-European investments in the financial services sector. It has a distinctive combination of operational and financial experience that it brings to its investments, targeting those businesses with high growth, strong management teams or restructuring needs. Based in London, the fund has 16 highly regarded global institutional investors including Goldman Sachs, Honeywell, Rothschild, Allianz, and Adams Street Partners.