Close Brothers announces the closing of the sale by The Riverside Company of 100% of PPC Insulators GmbH (“PPC”) to Seves S.p.A. (“Seves”).

PPC is a leading global manufacturer of high-voltage porcelain insulators used in the power generation and distribution industries. Typical applications for PPC’s products are in substation equipment, power lines and electric railways. Seves is the global leading manufacturer of glass and composite insulators for power transmission lines as well as of glass blocks for architectural and interior design applications.

The combined Seves/PPC entity will have consolidated sales in excess of €400 million and 19 manufacturing sites strategically located to serve clients worldwide. This new combination will create one of the leaders in the growing Transmission & Distribution industry and the only manufacturer able to offer the top of the range technology (glass, porcelain, polymer) in accordance to each and any application.

Eidos Partners worked with its strategic partner Close Brothers in identifying and selecting potential acquirers for PPC and initiated contacts with Seves in relation to the PPC opportunity.

Seves (www.seves.com), whose shareholders include Vestar Capital Partners, Ergon Capital Partners and Athena Consulting, is a global leader in the manufacture of glass and composite insulators for power transmission lines as well as of glass blocks for architectural and interior design applications. Headquartered in Florence (Italy), Seves employs 1,850 people, operates 11 production facilities, and has a worldwide distribution network. In 2006, Seves recorded consolidated sales of €291 million.

The Riverside Company (www.riversidecompany.com) is the largest private equity firm focused on the smaller end of the middle market. Riverside specializes in investing in premier companies with enterprise values of less than $100 million, and partners with strong management teams to build companies. Since 1988, the firm has invested in 162 transactions with a total enterprise value of $3.4 billion. Its current portfolio in the U.S. and Europe numbers 61, with combined annual sales of $3.0 billion and more than 11,000 employees.

Eidos Partners (www.eidospartners.com) is an independent investment bank focused on the design, definition and realization of mergers, acquisitions and disposals of companies, on quotations on the stock exchange and on corporate financial restructurings. Eidos Partners’ mission is to provide the highest-quality financial and strategic advice to Italian companies and to other international companies and entities operating in Italy. Eidos Partners enjoys outstanding access to companies and investors throughout the world as a result of its relationship with the Close Brothers Group.