BC Partners confirms pricing for OVS’s global offering of ordinary shares in its initial public offering

London, 26 February 2015 – Funds advised by BC Partners ("BC Partners"), a leading private equity firm, are pleased to announce that OVS S.p.A. ("OVS"), the market leading value fashion retailer in Italy, has announced the price for the Global Offering of its ordinary shares for listing on the Mercato Telematico Azionario (MTA) in Milan, organised and managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A.

• Offering Price of €4.10 per Share
• Global Offering of 101,000,000 Shares, for total consideration of approximately €414 million
• Market capitalisation of approximately €931 million; this translates to an Enterprise Value of approximately €1.3 billion
• IPO proceeds will be used to fund future growth and improve the capital structure
• BC Partners has not sold any shares in the IPO process

Nikos Stathopoulos, Managing Partner of BC Partners, said: "OVS is one of Italy’s national champions. The strong demand from investors to participate in its IPO is testament to its ability to capitalise on the growing demand for value fashion retail in Italy and throughout Europe. Having worked closely with management to grow the business, we are delighted to be supporting its listing in Milan and look forward to continuing to support the company in its next chapter."

Stefano Beraldo, Chief Executive of OVS, commented: "I am very pleased to see that an Italian business generated such interest from international institutional investors and retail investors in Italy. On behalf of the OVS team, I would like to thank them, along with BC Partners, for the confidence shown in our company and its future growth prospects."

The Offering Price has been set at €4.10 per Share for total consideration of approximately €414 million, gross of fees and costs related to the transaction and €459 million including the greenshoe option. The capitalization of the Company, calculated on the basis of the Offering Price, is approximately €931 million. This translates to an Enterprise Value of approximately €1.3 billion.

Banca IMI, BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs International and UniCredit Corporate & Investment Banking are acting as Global Coordinators; Credit Suisse and HSBC are acting as Joint Bookrunners.

Banca IMI is also acting as Lead Manager of the Italian Public Offering and Sponsor of the offering. Lazard is acting as the Company’s financial advisor.

About OVS S.p.A.

The OVS Group is the market leading value fashion retailer in Italy. It creates, produces and sells clothing apparel for women, men and children under the brands OVS and UPIM, and has an extensive sales network across the country. The OVS brand, which represents more than 80% of the Group’s turnover, combines fashion, quality and Italian style, always at the most affordable prices. The OVS Group is owned by BC Partners, a leading private equity firm, and in the financial year ended 31 January 2014 it achieved consolidated revenues of €1.136 billion.

About BC Partners

BC Partners is a leading private equity firm with advised funds of €12.6 billion. Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role in developing the European buy-out market for 28 years. BC Partners executives operate as an integrated team through the firm’s offices in Europe and North America, acquiring and developing businesses to create value in partnership with management. Since inception, BC Partners has completed 87 investments in companies with a total enterprise value of €88 billion and is currently investing its ninth fund, which was raised in 2011 with total commitments of €6.7 billion.