Nordic Business Report-January 26, 2007-Investor AB and Morgan Stanley Principal Investments to acquire Molnlycke Health Care (C)1994-2007 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com Swedish industrial holding company Investor AB said on Friday (26 January) that it has agreed, together with Morgan Stanley Principal Investments (MSPI), to acquire Molnlycke Health Care Group AB from Apax Partners. The acquisition is valued at EUR2.85bn. The majority of the acquisition will be financed by external debt, the company said. The purchase will be made through an acquisition company equally controlled by Investor and MSPI, with Molnlyckes management as minority shareholders. Investors share of the equity capital and shareholder loans will amount to EUR620m, corresponding to about 65% of the aggregated equity and shareholder loans invested by Investor and Morgan Stanley. Molnlycke, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a global single-use medical products company that manufactures and sells wound care and surgical products primarily for the professional healthcare sector. In 2006 Molnlycke had sales of around EUR760m. Morgan Stanley Principal Investments is a Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) proprietary capital investment vehicle. Recent MSPI healthcare investments include Grifols and US Oncology. Investor, based in Stockholm, Sweden, is the Nordic regions leading industrial holding company and a leading shareholder in a number of multinational companies, including Ericsson, SEB and Atlas Copco. The company also conducts private equity activities in the United States, Northern Europe and Asia. Investor is listed on the Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. One British pound (GBP) is worth approximately 1.49 euros (EUR). ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected]))