ACAS American Capital, Ltd.

ST. PETER PORT, Guernsey, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- European Capital Financial Services Limited ("European Capital"), the sub-investment manager of European Capital Limited (LSE:ECAS), is pleased to announce, as part of the company's further expansion in the German market, the appointment of Bernd Schaessburger as an Investment Director. The appointment is effective September 1. Bernd joins the Frankfurt based team headed by Managing Director Robert von Finckenstein, which was successfully ramped up during the past months and now numbers four professionals. A fifth member has been hired and will join the team shortly. This completes the initial team of European Capital in Frankfurt. "We believe that a strong local team will enable European Capital to expand its pan-European mezzanine activities significantly," said Nathalie Faure Beaulieu, Managing Director and Head of Pan European Mezzanine at European Capital. European Capital is an affiliate of American Capital Strategies Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACAS), a U.S.-based publicly traded alternative asset manager with approximately $17(1) billion in assets under management. April 2007 saw the opening of the Frankfurt office, which works together closely with the European mezzanine team headed by Nathalie Faure Beaulieu in London. With the opening of the Frankfurt office, and the assembling of an experienced local team, European Capital is poised to tap the attractive opportunities available in the German market. Since inception, European Capital has, through its offices, already made significant commitments providing mezzanine capital to seven German transactions. European Capital has thus positioned itself as a leading independent mezzanine investor in Germany. German team with wide-ranging experience Bernd Schaessburger boasts a broad range of mezzanine experience. Prior to joining European Capital, Bernd worked in the mezzanine finance industry at DAM Capital in London and, before that, at Dresdner Kleinwort, Frankfurt, spending two years at each. His responsibilities included origination and the structuring and execution of new investments. Previously, he spent about five years as an investment manager at a German private equity firm, where he was involved in transactions across a variety of industries as well as exit management. During this time, Bernd also served as a supervisory board member at portfolio companies. Bernd holds a Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Siegen. Hans Twietmeyer joined European Capital in June 2007 as an Investment Director in the company's Frankfurt office. Prior to joining European Capital, he worked in the Leveraged Finance Division at Societe Generale for three years and, prior to that, in the Leveraged Finance Division at Royal Bank of Scotland for about four years. Hans was involved in structuring and arranging numerous transactions, including LBOs, real-estate and project finance-related projects. Hans began his career at Deutsche Bank. He holds a Diploma in Economics from the University of Gottingen. Robert von Finckenstein has been Managing Director and head of the Frankfurt office of European Capital since 2007. Prior to that, he was Managing Director and Co-Head at Dresdner Anschutz Mezzinvest ("DAM") in London. At DAM Advisors, he originated mezzanine and subordinated debt transactions with an aggregate value of some euro 300 million for German Mittelstand companies. Further members of the European Capital team in Frankfurt currently include Tuomas Erik Ekholm, Associate, and Miriam Schroeder, Office Manager. ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL European Capital is a closed-end investment company for pan-European equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments with capital resources of approximately euro 2.3 billion ($3.2 billion). European Capital invests in and sponsors management and employee buyouts, invests in private equity buyouts and provides capital directly to private and public companies headquartered predominantly in Europe. European Capital generally invests between euro 5 million and euro 500 million per transaction in equity, mezzanine debt and senior debt to fund growth, acquisitions and recapitalizations. Companies interested in learning more about European Capital should contact Robert von Finckenstein at +49 (0) 69 71 71 297-0 in Frankfurt, Nathalie Faure Beaulieu or Simon Henderson at + 44 (0)20 7539 7000 in London, Jean Eichenlaub at + 33 (0)1 40 68 06 66 in Paris, or Luis Felipe Castellanos at +(34) 91 745 99 63 in Madrid, or visit the website at http://www.europeancapital.com/. ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL American Capital Strategies Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACAS), is an affiliate of European Capital and the only alternative asset management company that is a member of the S&P 500. With $17(1) billion in assets under management, American Capital is the largest U.S. publicly traded private equity firm and one of the largest publicly traded alternative asset managers. American Capital, both directly and through its global asset management business, is an investor in management and employee buyouts, private equity buyouts, and early stage and mature private and public companies. American Capital provides senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity to fund growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations and securitizations. American Capital and its affiliates invest from $5 million to $800 million per company in North America and euro 5 million to euro 500 million per company in Europe. (1) Assets under management is an estimate of internally and externally managed assets as of July 31, 2007 and does not include any fair value adjustments subsequent to June 30, 2007. This press release contains forward-looking statements. The statements regarding expected results of European Capital and/or American Capital are subject to various factors and uncertainties, including the uncertainties associated with the timing of transaction closings, changes in interest rates, availability of transactions, changes in regional, national or international economic conditions, or changes in the conditions of the industries in which European Capital and/or American Capital has made investments. DATASOURCE: European Capital Financial Services Limited CONTACT: Robert von Finckenstein, Managing Director of European Capital Services, +49 69 71 71 297-0; Kornelia Spodzieja or Irina Kobboldt, both of Charles Barker, +49 69 79 40 90-43, for European Capital Financial Services Limited Web site: http://www.europeancapital.com/ http://www.americancapital.com/

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