Neochimiki Becomes Part of the Carlyle Portfolio

Greek chemical manufacturer Neochimiki L.V. Lavrentiadis S.A. Industrial and Commercial Company has been acquired by the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm based in Washington, D.C. Carlyle has purchased 73.54% of the shares at a price of € 19 per share.

Former Chairman and CEO Lavrentis Lavrentiadis sold Carlyle 20% of the shares, with the rest coming from a variety of other investors. Carlyle's next goal in regards to Neochimiki is to launch a tender offer, trying to acquire all remaining shares of the company. The deal raises the value of Neochimiki to € 749 million.

Neochimiki L.V. Lavrentiadis S.A. Industrial and Commercial Company (www.neochimiki-sa.gr)
Neochimiki was founded in 1974 and is based in Athens, Greece. Neochimiki's core business ventures which include the production, blending and packaging, and distribution of chemicals serves a customer list of nearly 8,000 names.

The company boasts annual sales near € 470m with a workforce of 1,000 employees.

The Carlyle Group (www.carlyle.com)
The Carlyle Group is one of the world's largest private equity firms, with over $91.5 billion in managed investments. The company was established in 1987 and has since grown to a force of over 535 investment professionals in 21 offices world wide. Carlyle prefers a conservative investment philosophy and disciplined investment process resulting in steady and sizable returns for its 1,300 investors.

Investments are concentrated in the areas of aerospace & defense, automotive & transportation, consumer & retail, energy & power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, real estate, technology & business services and telecommunications & media.