Funds advised by Apax Partners to acquire majority shareholding in Travelex

28 February 2005

Lloyd Dorfman, who will continue to be Chairman and Chief Executive of the Group, will retain a 30% stake, and 3i, which has held a shareholding in Travelex since 1999, will retain a 7% stake.

Travelex is also pleased to announce that, as a result of its recent strategic review, it will be exploring opportunities to work with Standard Chartered across its network in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Travelex announced on 19 December 2004 that it had appointed Deutsche Bank to review the strategic options for the business, following a number of approaches received from potential acquirers. The Board concluded that the new ownership structure announced today best meets those strategic objectives.

Travelex is the world's largest foreign exchange specialist and is a global brand. The Travelex Group has offices in 35 countries and corporate relationships in 110 countries, and serves over 29,000,000 customers each year.

Lloyd Dorfman, Chairman and Chief Executive of Travelex, said:

"We are delighted with today's announcement. I believe that the combination of Travelex and Apax Partners will represent a powerful force in the marketplace, and help us to achieve the ambitious goals we have set for the business.

We see significant opportunities to grow Travelex's business in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. These are regions where Standard Chartered has a strong network, and we are very excited to be exploring with them ways to leverage our complementary skills in these markets."

Stephen Green, Partner who heads Apax Partners' Business and Financial Services team, said: "We are delighted to enter into partnership with Lloyd Dorfman at this exciting time for Travelex. Apax Partners is committed to supporting the global growth of Travelex's corporate and consumer payment businesses."

Stephan Wilcke, a Director of Apax Partners in its Business and Financial Services sector team, said: "Travelex is a leader in each of its business segments. While it is globally known for its successful bureau de change business, it also has fast growing outsourcing and payments processing businesses."

Nick Badman, 3i Director, commented: "Travelex has been a great success story and a fabulous investment for 3i. 3i works in partnership with strong management teams to create value and Travelex is a great example of this. We are delighted also that we will be able to continue work with Travelex, Lloyd and Apax Partners to create further value".

The transaction is expected to close in July 2005.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Dechert LLP acted for Apax Partners and Travelex respectively. Citigroup advised Apax Partners on the transaction. Deutsche Bank advised Travelex.

For further information, please contact:

Travelex

Anthony Wagerman
T: +44 (0) 20 7400 4000
E: Anthony.Wagerman@travelex.com

Apax Partners

Juliana Wheeler
T: +44 (0) 20 7872 6350
E: Juliana.Wheeler@apax.com

Clare Sillars
T: +44 (0) 20 7872 6476
E: Clare.Sillars@apax.com

3i Smithfield

Patrick Dunne
T: +44 (0) 20 7975 3283
E: Patrick_Dunne@3i.com

John Antcliffe
T: +44 (0) 20 7360 4900
E: Jantcliffe@smithfieldgroup.com

Notes to Editors

Apax Partners is one of the world's leading private equity investment groups, operating across Europe, Israel and the United States. With over 30 years of direct investing experience, Apax Partners' Funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. It pursues a balanced equity portfolio strategy, investing in late venture, growth capital and buyouts.

Apax Partners' Funds invest in companies across its 6 chosen global sectors of information technology, telecommunications, healthcare, media, financial/business services, retail and consumer. Apax Partners' Funds investments include Global Refund, Azimut, MoneyBox, Independer, Yell, VNU World Directories and Deutsche Kabel.

For additional information, see: http://www.apax.com/

Travelex is the world's largest non-bank provider of commercial foreign exchange services, providing integrated payment solutions for business customers globally. The Group is also one of the world's leading providers of outsourced travel money to banks, travel agencies and other financial institutions. In addition, Travelex operates over 700 retail foreign exchange branches around the world. For more information, see: http://www.travelex.com/