Warburg Pincus acquires 5.29 percent of United Internet AG shares

  • Investment reflects confidence in United Internet's business strategy
  • United Internet CEO Dommermuth: "We are delighted to have secured Warburg Pincus as a strategic long term investor as we implement our strategy."

Montabaur, February 25, 2011. Global private equity investor Warburg Pincus has acquired 5.29 percent of United internet AG, a leading European internet specialist with a strong portfolio of brands including 1&1, GMX and WEB.DE.

As a result of the investment, Warburg Pincus has become one of the largest shareholders in the company together with the founder and CEO of the company, Ralph Dommermuth, who holds 40.89 percent of the shares, and with the company which holds a further 4.14 percent of its own shares. Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of United Internet AG, commented: "In Warburg Pincus we have a long-term oriented investor with significant industry experience in the telecom, hosting and digital media industries. The investment by Warburg Pincus is a sign of their confidence in our growth strategy which is focused on our core sectors such as mobile internet and cloud computing."

Lars Singbartl, Managing Director at Warburg Pincus, commented: "We have been attentively following the successful development of United Internet over the past few years, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to invest in a company which has built up a strong portal business and become a leading provider of broadband access, hosting, and cloud computing solutions. United Internet is well positioned in its core markets and poised for future growth. Warburg Pincus provides long-term support to companies with sustainable growth strategies and is an experienced minority investor."

About Warburg Pincus

Warburg Pincus is a leading global private equity firm. The firm has more than $30 billion in assets under management. Its active portfolio of more than 110 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector and geography. Warburg Pincus is a growth investor and an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 13 private equity funds which have invested more than $35 billion in over 600 companies in more than 30 countries.

Since the firm's first European transaction in 1983, Warburg Pincus has invested more than $6 billion in European companies, including investments in Ziggo, Loyalty Management Group, WNS Global Services (NYSE: WNS), Eurand (NASDAQ: EURX), Zentiva (LSE: ZEND and PSE: ZENTIVA), Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd., Euromedic, Kontron (Frankfurt: KBC.F ) and easycash.

Since inception the firm has invested more than $12 billion in technology, media and telecommunications (TMT), including investments in BEA Systems, Bharti Airtel (BSE: BRTI), Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS), NeuStar (NYSE: NSR), Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN), and UGS.