Sale Microtherm Engineered Solutions finalised

Gimv announces that the sale of Microtherm Engineered Solutions, which was announced earlier in July, has been finalised. Gimv and the other shareholders (Sofindev II and KBC Private Equity) sold their share in Microtherm to Promat International NV, a subsidiary of the Etex Group NV, who thus becomes full owner.

Microtherm (www.microtherm.be) has been manufacturing high-performance thermal insulation materials based on microporous silica for more than 40 years. As a manufacturer of a broad range of products that are often custom-made, Microtherm Engineered Solutions provides made-tomeasure solutions for its customers. Microtherm has offices in Belgium, Japan and the US and employs more than 200 staff.

The Etex Group is a Belgian industrial group specialised in manufacturing and commercialising high-quality building material and systems. Promat International is the Etex Group’s specialist in passive fire protection and high temperature insulation.

The sale has a positive impact of EUR 6.1 million (EUR 0.26 per share) on Gimv’s last published equity value at 30 June 2010. Over the entire investment period, the shareholding’s return scores well above Gimv’s historic average. No further financial details on this transaction will be disclosed.