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ISG Chairman Wilbur Ross Enters Expansion Fund Joint Venture

Jan. 30, 2004 — Wilbur L. Ross Jr. and Philippe Nguyen announced the formation of a joint venture, IPE Ross, based in Paris, France, which will sponsor a EUR 250 million French private equity fund, IPE Expansion Fund (IPEEF), to invest in leveraged equity buyouts and build-ups in both the private and public sectors. Paris-based Global Private Equity acted as exclusive financial advisor.

WL Ross & Co LLC, based in New York, has sponsored more than $2.5 billion of private investments in the United States, Japan and Korea since its founding in 2000 by Wilbur Ross. The firm's most notable transaction was the creation of International Steel Group, which acquired three steel companies, Bethlehem, LTV and Acme, to become the second-largest integrated steel company in the U.S. Mr. Ross is Chairman of the Board of Directors of ISG, which went public in December 2003 and now trades on the New York Stock Exchange with an equity market capitalization in excess of $4 billion.

The Ross firm also bought Burlington Industries last year for $614 million in partnership with Mohawk Industries, and earlier had bought from the Japanese government a bank which it later resold to an affiliate of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Prior to the formation of WL Ross & Co., Ross, 66, had for 26 years been Executive Managing Director of Rothschild Inc.

Mr. Nguyen, 45, founded Investors in Private Equity (IPE) in 2002 with four other partners and three associates. Prior to the formation of IPE, he served eight years as head of Private Equity activities, first at Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) and then at Credit Lyonnais. The team, which has more than 50 years collective private equity experience, last April completed the acquisition of a majority interest in the EUR500 million ERMEWA Group within a long-term partnership with SNCF, the French railways operator. ERMEWA is the second-largest renter of specialized railcars in Europe and a worldwide leader in renting tank containers.

Mr. Ross will be Chairman of the Investment Committee of IPE Expansion Fund and Mr. Nguyen will be Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Ross commented, "We believe there is excellent potential for middle market medium-term industrial development transactions in Europe, especially France. We are delighted to pool our intellectual resources with those of such a highly talented team". Mr. Nguyen added, "We are thrilled to have the support of WL Ross and will benefit from their proven expertise in complex cross-border transactions".

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