Media Release

Barclays Africa Group Limited

30 December, 2013

Barclays Africa Group disposes of its entire 73.37% limited partner and related interests in Absa Capital Private Equity Fund I

Barclays Africa Group through a wholly-owned subsidiary Absa Trading and Investment Solutions Proprietary Limited (ATIS) is pleased to announce that it has disposed of its 73.37% limited partnership interest in Absa Capital Private Equity Fund I (ACPE Fund I) to a syndicate led by HarbourVest Partners L.P. (HarbourVest), comprising funds managed by HarbourVest and Coller Capital Limited.

ACPE Fund I is a fully invested South African private equity fund established in 2008. The Fund has exposure to the general industrials sector in sub-Saharan Africa and comprises the following investments:

Bravo Group, a diversified manufacturer of household furniture products and licence holder;

EnviroServ, a leading waste management company specialising in industrial and commercial waste management;

Kwikspace, the largest and most diverse manufacturer of prefabricated buildings in sub-Saharan Africa;

Safripol, a plastic manufacturer and the only producer of High Density Polyethylene and one of two producers of Polypropylene in South Africa; and

Tsebo, a diversified catering, facilities management and cleaning company, with operations in various countries across Africa

As a consequence of the sale, Absa Capital Private Equity Proprietary Limited (ACPE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barclays Africa Group and the Investment Adviser to the General Partner of ACPE Fund I, has been spun off to become a new independent South African private equity fund manager, Rockwood Private Equity.

As of 31 December 2012, the reported carrying value of BAGL’s interest in ACPE Fund I was R2.3bn.

Barclays Africa Group was co-advised by Absa Corporate and Investment Banking, Deutsche Bank (joint financial advisers) and Norton Rose Fulbright (legal adviser). HarbourVest was advised by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (legal adviser) and Bowman Gilfillan (South African legal adviser).

HarbourVest Partners, LLC is an independent global alternative investment firm that invests in venture capital, buyout, mezzanine debt, and other private debt through primary partnerships, secondary purchases, and direct co- investments. Since 1986, HarbourVest has been a leading secondary buyer, acquiring $10 billion of assets in deals across stages, types, vintages, and geographies and working with many types of sellers, including financial institutions, corporations, pension plans, government entities, endowments, and family offices. This flexibility enables HarbourVest to offer sellers of private equity comprehensive liquidity solutions. In addition to purchasing private equity and debt assets on a secondary basis, the HarbourVest team has committed more than $25 billion to newly-formed funds, and invested $4 billion directly in operating companies. HarbourVest has a deep understanding of the South African private equity market having been invested in South Africa since 1996.

Coller Capital, founded in 1990, is one of the leading global investors dedicated to the private equity secondary market. Its name has long been synonymous with the development of the secondaries marketplace, retaining the world’s largest investment team focused on private equity secondaries. Headquartered in London, with offices in New York and Hong Kong, Coller Capital makes investments across the globe, committing from $1 million to $1 billion-plus to individual transactions. In 2012, Coller Capital closed its sixth secondaries fund, Coller International Partners VI, with capital commitments of USD5.5bn from almost 200 of the world’s leading institutional investors.

More information: Graeme Coetzee
Marketing and Corporate Communications

Absa Corporate and Investment Banking
011 895 6695, 079 6959798, graeme.coetzee@absacapital.com