We are pleased to bring you the Summer 2006 issue of Acanthus Alert. Since our last update, we have been very busy not only serving our clients but also growing and strengthening our team, moderating panels at private equity conferences, writing articles and undertaking market research.

We were delighted once again to have been short listed for the second consecutive year running for the EVCA/Real Deals European Boutique of the Year Award at the third annual European Private Equity Summit and Awards dinner organised by EVCA, INSEAD and Real Deals. At the BVCA Private Equity Awards we were also short listed for the Specialist Adviser of the Year.

We have achieved some important milestones over the last three years:

• our clients have raised over €1.5 billion in capital with another €1 billion in progress
• we have represented clients in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, The Netherlands and the UK
• our team has expanded

In addition, our corporate advisory business is building a strong reputation in healthcare and education services consistent with our focus on thorough, high quality analysis and execution.

As we begin the second half of 2006, we are pleased with the many opportunities that lie ahead. We are currently working with a number of clients on fund placement and investor relations engagements as well as many ongoing corporate advisory assignments in healthcare and education.

Equity release in residential care
In a Care Management Matters article published in March 2006, Acanthus outlined a number of avenues open to owners in the residential care sector seeking to release equity from their businesses.

The LP/GP divide
In a Private Equity International article published in March 2006, Acanthus updated readers on the results of its second annual survey into the key drivers behind the relationships existing between GPs and their LPs.

Simulate This
In a Private Equity International article published in December 2005, Acanthus considered the limitations of traditional valuation models and outlined how to use simulation models to analyse expected returns in private equity portfolios.

Acanthus Well Placed to Enjoy a Record Fundraising Year
In October 2005, Financial News profiled Acanthus with particular reference to the impact of the recent fundraising bonanza on the private equity industry. They cautioned that the industry's success could be hit by future performance worries.

We have continued to strengthen our team and are particularly pleased to welcome Joanne Weetman and Kosta Kangelaris who joined us this year.

• Kosta Kangelaris (Associate)
  Kosta was a Senior Accountant at McInnes, Graham & Gibbs in Melbourne where he worked in the Business Services department. He has over five years of experience working with small to medium sized enterprises and high net worth individuals. Kosta holds a Bachelor degree in Business and Commerce from Monash University, Melbourne and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in November 2004.
• Joanne Weetman (Analyst)
  Prior to joining Acanthus, Joanne received a BA (Hons) in Economics from St. Catharine's College, University of Cambridge. Following this, she was awarded a first class degree in the one year undergraduate programme in Management Studies at the Judge Business School, Cambridge University.

Kosta and Joanne joined us this year following the recruitment of Connor O'Keeffe and Constance Jay in 2005.

• Connor O'Keeffe (Associate)
  Connor gained four years experience in financial services working in the Corporate Finance and M&A departments of Deloitte & Touche in South Africa and latterly in New York. He holds an Honours degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Natal, a BComm in Accounting and Finance from the University of Stellenbosch and is a Chartered Accountant.
• Constance Jay (Analyst)
  Prior to joining Acanthus, Constance completed an internship at AXA Private Equity as a venture analyst. She holds a first class postgraduate degree in Strategy and Management of International Business with a Major in Corporate Finance from ESSEC Business School, France; a postgraduate degree in corporate finance and biotechnology from ISTM Business School, France and a BSc in Biochemistry from University Pierre et Marie Curie, France.

Acanthus is often asked to participate at conferences on private equity either as panel moderators or as speakers. We are very happy to do this and believe that to moderate a panel discussion in such a way as to make the discussion challenging, interesting and controversial requires much preparation. We therefore put a lot of time and resources into preparing for any panels we moderate. Since Summer 2005, Acanthus has moderated the following panels:

Capital Creation 2005 (Monte Carlo, September 2005) - Panel Chair
Better Understanding the Investors: Gaining in-depth insight into LP's investment preferences to improve your fundraising strategy
Download the presentation (65 Kb PDF)

Super Investor 2005 (Paris, November 2005)- Panel Chair
Assessing the Importance of Preserving an Alignment of Interests in LP/GP Relationships: What is the current level of satisfaction in LP/GP relations?
Download the presentation (66 Kb PDF)

Unquote Limited Partners Private Equity Congress (London, February 2006) - Panel Chair
Country specific v. pan European strategies in the mid market: who has the edge?
Download the presentation (671 Kb PPT)

Private Equity Analysis LP Summit 2006 (Zurich, May 2006) - Panel Participant
Protecting your stake

DVCA Annual Meeting 2006 (Nyborg, Denmark, April 2006) - Speaker
Current trends in fundraising for European private equity funds
Download the presentation (972 Kb PPT)

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter.