European Capital Opens Frankfurt Office

Frankfurt, Germany (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Expands Pan European Mezzanine Group

European Capital Financial Services Limited ("European Capital")
announced today the opening of its Frankfurt office. The office will
concentrate on mezzanine investments. European Capital is an
affiliate of American Capital Strategies Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS), a
United States based publicly traded alternative asset manager with
approximately US$10.9 billion in assets and capital commitments under
management as at 31 December 2006. Leading European Capital in
Frankfurt is Robert von Finckenstein, Managing Director, reporting to
Nathalie Faure Beaulieu, Managing Director and Head of Pan European
Mezzanine, based in London. The Frankfurt office is the third
European Capital office, in addition to London and Paris.

"We are delighted to welcome Robert von Finckenstein to European
Capital and continue building European Capital by expanding into
Germany," said Ira Wagner, President of European Capital and Chief
Operating Officer of American Capital Strategies Ltd. "We believe
that Robert's considerable knowledge of the German market will enable
European Capital to expand its Pan European Mezzanine activities
significantly as we build relationships with both German private
equity firms and directly with German companies."

As at 15 April 2007 the European Capital group had invested an
aggregate of EUR1.6 billion in 45 companies since its establishment
in August 2005, of which EUR1.2 billion was invested in 30 companies
during 2006. European Capital investments in Germany total EUR42
million (based on portfolio company headquarter locations), including
investments in Deutsche Connectors, a designer and manufacturer of
customised environmentally sealed connectors for harsh environments;
Moeller, a supplier of low voltage electrical distribution and
automation components for industrial, commercial and residential use;
Flint Inks, an inks producer; Iglo Birds Eye, a manufacturer of
frozen foods; and Metall Technologie Holding, a manufacturer and
marketer of furnaces for heat treatment applications. European
Capital has investments in the U.K., Germany, France, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Italy. Mezzanine
investments have been in consumer and leisure, healthcare, business
and financial services and the industrials sector. For more
information about European Capital's portfolio, go to
www.europeancapital.com/our_portfolio/portfolio.html.

"As at 15 April 2007 European Capital has completed 41 mezzanine
investments totalling EUR1 billion since the formation of our Pan
European Mezzanine operation in 2005 and we face a strong pipeline in
a buoyant market," said Ms. Beaulieu. "I am confident Robert will
make a valuable contribution to European Capital as he builds the
Frankfurt team in the coming years."

The sponsors which European Capital has worked with include: 3i,
Apax Partners, AXA Private Equity, Bain Capital, Blackstone Group
International, Candover Partners, Cinven, Doughty Hanson & Co.,
Electra Partners Europe, Investcorp International, Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts & Co., Legal & General Ventures, Lehman Brothers Merchant
Banking, Permira and WENDEL Investissement.

"I am very pleased to be joining a firm with the track record and
resources of European Capital," said Mr. von Finckenstein. "We are
well positioned to grow and face the challenges and opportunities of
an active mezzanine market."

Prior to European Capital, Mr. von Finckenstein was Managing
Director and Co-Head of DAM Advisors Ltd. in London. At DAM Advisors
he originated mezzanine and subordinated debt transactions for German
Mittelstand companies. Prior to DAM Advisors, he was a Director of
Global Loan Products at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein's Acquisition
Finance Group in Frankfurt where he structured and arranged complex
transactions, particularly in the telecommunications, media and
technology sector.

ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL

European Capital is a closed-ended investment company incorporated
in Guernsey in August 2005 for pan-European equity, mezzanine and
senior debt investment. It is managed by European Capital Financial
Services (Guernsey) Limited (the "Investment Manager"), a
wholly-owned subsidiary of American Capital Strategies, Ltd.
("American Capital"). American Capital is a leading US based investor
in equity, mezzanine and senior debt securities and is also the
majority owner of European Capital.

European Capital's investment criteria

The European Capital group targets companies that generally meet a
combination of the following criteria: a robust track record, strong
cash flows, significant growth prospects, strong competitive
positioning, an experienced management team with a significant
ownership interest and potential for the European Capital group to
gain liquidity and/or realise appreciation in its investments.

The European Capital group expects to make investments which are
typically between EUR5 million and EUR125 million. European Capital
sponsored buyouts would typically be of companies with an enterprise
value of between EUR50 million and EUR500 million. The European
Capital group may however participate in co-investments with the
American Capital group in transactions involving companies with a
larger enterprise value.

About American Capital

American Capital was founded in 1986 and is a NASDAQ-listed
alternative investment asset management company which directly and
through managed funds provides senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity
to fund growth, acquisitions and recapitalisations. It had
approximately $10.9 billion of assets and capital commitments under
management as at 31 December 2006.

This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed
to be, 'forward-looking statements'. These forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology,
including the terms 'believes', 'estimates', 'plans', 'projects',
'anticipates', 'expects', 'intends', 'may', 'will', or 'should' or,
in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable
terminology. These forward-looking statements include matters that
are not historical facts and include statements regarding European
Capital's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning,
among other things, European Capital's results of operations,
financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth and strategies.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and
uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. A
number of factors could cause actual results and developments to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from
actual results. Any forward-looking statements in this announcement
reflect European Capital's view with respect to future events as at
the date of this announcement and are subject to risks relating to
future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating
to European Capital's operations, results of operations, growth
strategy and liquidity. European Capital undertakes no obligation
publicly to release the results of any revisions to any
forward-looking statements in this announcement that may occur due to
any change in its expectations or to reflect events or circumstances
after the date of this announcement.

Information in this announcement or any of the documents cannot be
relied upon as a guide to future performance.

ots Originaltext: European Capital
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Contact: Robert von Finckenstein, Managing Director, European
Capital, +49-(0)69-7171-2970; Nathalie Faure Beaulieu, Managing
Director, European Capital, +44-(0)20-7539-7000; Brian Maney,
Director, Corporate Communications, +44-(0)20-7539-7000