Motorola to buy Kreatel from lead investors

ABN AMRO Capital, SEB Företagsinvest and Innovationskapital have agreed the sale of Swedish IP-based set-top box provider Kreatel Communications to Motorola, Inc. The transaction was announced today by Motorola. Completion is expected during the first quarter of 2006, subject to regulatory approval. Kreatel is a leading developer of innovative Internet Protocol (IPTV) based digital set-tops, with customers including Telefónica, KPN and TeliaSonera. ABN AMRO Capital and SEB Företagsinvest made their first investment in Kreatel in April 2000, and Innovationskapital in the first institutional round in 1999. The consortium has shown strong commitment to the company with a series of additional capital investments since then. As a result of the agreement to sell to Motorola, the net proceeds to these three shareholders are expected, before any post-completion adjustments, to be approximately SEK 305 million, SEK 225 million and SEK 100 million respectively. Kreatel’s flexible set-top platform is a natural complement to Motorola’s end-to-end digital video solution, and particularly addresses the growing need for IPTV based digital set-tops. Motorola offers flexible solutions throughout the Cable, xDSL, and FTTP video chain, including network infrastructure, video headend and transport, industry-leading MPEG-4 encoding, and connected home devices. Johan Bjurström, Managing Partner of ABN AMRO Capital’s Nordic business, said on behalf of the investor consortium: “Together with Kreatel’s management we decided that the company is ready to move to the next stage in its development. This meant aligning itself with a strong global industrial partner. We are delighted to have found such a great match in Motorola. This has been a successful investment for the investors and we wish the management team all future success under its new ownership.” Lars Bengtsson, CEO of Kreatel, said: “This agreement is a very good example of a successful transfer of ownership from private equity firms to a strategic owner. ABN AMRO Capital, SEB Företagsinvest and Innovationskapital have supported Kreatel’s growth over the last couple of years - we found a group of partners with the expertise and financial strength to achieve our goals and help us find the right partner to further strengthen our operations.” - - - Advisors to the Investor Consortium and Management • Financial – Arma Partners LLP, London • Legal – Advokatfirman Vinge, Stockholm Media Enquiries: ABN AMRO Piers Townsend, +44 20 7678 5111 SEB Företagsinvest Frederick Johansson, Head of SEB Företagsinvest +46 8 763 7903 Innovationskapital Jonas Risberg, Investment Director +46 8 5450 1495