New owners for Axxicon Mould Technology

Axxicon Mould Technology, one of the world’s leading producers of engineered mould solutions for optical, medical and infocom industries, has been acquired by its current Management Team, supported financially by Gilde Participaties, which is owned by Gilde Investment Management, a leading Dutch private equity firm.

Axxicon Mould Technology produces moulds used by the plastics industry for the production of items such as CDs, DVDs, medical devices and mobile telephones.

The company works with blue-chip companies – helping them to produce world-class products at many locations around the globe.

Speaking for Axxicon Mould Technology, Chief Executive Officer Arno Wendrich, said: “We are pleased to have regained our independence. As a successful player in a number of leading international industrial markets, we need to apply customer focus combined with engineering know-how.”

“Our Management Team - which includes COO Alfred Evers and CFO Cees van der Meer, is keen to continue to build on our long established tradition for excellence – and our new partner is highly motivated – and financially capable - to provide the necessary financial backing for future growth. All in all – a winning solution, which will bring significant benefits for our customers and other stakeholders, both now and in the future.”

Mr. Wendrich added: “Axxicon Mould Technology is well-known for delivering proven technology resulting in lifetime durability, highest yields and lowest cost of ownership. We will continue to bring unique solutions to even the most difficult product engineering challenges.”

Axxicon Mould Technology develops customer specified moulds and has a range

of proprietary modular mould systems for high speed production of standardised products. The organisation consists of three production facilities in Europe,

an R & D centre in the Netherlands and sales offices for Optical Media moulds in Hong Kong and Los Angeles, has a total of 325 employees and achieved a net

turn-over in 2003 of EUR 60 million.

Gilde Participaties is managed by Gilde Investment Management, a leading Dutch private equity firm with EUR 1.8 billion under management. Gilde has offices in Utrecht (The Netherlands), Paris (France) and Zurich (Switzerland). Gilde has invested in more than 250 companies since its inception in 1982. Companies in Gilde’s current portfolio include Koninklijke Gazelle, Drie Mollen, and Peijnenburg.