Aurelius SE & Co. KGaA

M&A Activity • Dec 10, 2012

News Details

Corporate | 10 December 2012 08:30

AURELIUS invests in education – Studienkreis Group acquired from Franz Cornelsen Education Group

AURELIUS AG / Key word(s): Acquisition

10.12.2012 / 08:30

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AURELIUS invests in education

Studienkreis Group acquired from Franz Cornelsen Education Group

– Deal covers 1,000 tutoring centers in the German-speaking area

– Education is an important growth area for the AURELIUS Group

Munich, December 10, 2012 – The Munich-based AURELIUS Group (ISIN DE000A0JK2A8) is acquiring the Studienkreis Group from Franz Cornelsen Bildungsholding GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin, a company of the Franz Cornelsen Education Group. The deal, which is still subject to approval by the antitrust authorities, forms part of the Franz Cornelsen Education Group's efforts to concentrate on its core business. The transaction covers three Bochum-based companies: Studienkreis GmbH, Studienkreis Partnersysteme GmbH and people online GmbH. The Studienkreis Group provides extra tuition for children aged between six and 18 attending primary and secondary schools. The company has an excellent position in the German-speaking market and enjoys a high level of brand awareness. It expects to generate a positive net profit for the year 2012 on the back of revenues of EUR 53 million.

The Studienkreis Group maintains around 950 facilities in Germany. A further 50 or so centers are located in Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg. The children receive extra tuition in small groups of no more than five in all subjects, although the emphasis is on the key school subjects of mathematics, German and English. The centers are known for the high quality of education and care they offer, as verified and certified in over 800 locations by the TÜV Rheinland testing, inspection and certification agency. The tutoring centers are operated both directly by the Studienkreis Group itself and by independent franchise partners. At first, AURELIUS will help the management to complete the transformation process that was initiated in 2011. Beyond this, the company is looking to grow by expanding its facilities and rolling out new products.

In acquiring the Studienkreis Group, AURELIUS is intensifying its commitment to the education sector. The LD Didactic Group, a company covering university education and the sciences, has already been part of the corporate group since 2009. The Studienkreis Group and LD Didactic will operate on the market as an independent subsidiary of the AURELIUS Group. 'Not only is education an attractive market for us, with outstanding prospects for the future, it is also a social responsibility,' comments AURELIUS Executive Board member Gert Purkert. 'More personal engagement will be required going forward if we are to give our children a good foundation for the future. In response to this challenge, we need to expand our offering and invest in availability and quality.'

**About Aurelius

**The AURELIUS Group specializes in acquiring companies with development potential and providing them with operational support. With respect to the acquisition of subsidiaries, AURELIUS strives to identify, analyze, develop and exploit all available opportunities in the market. The AURELIUS Group understands itself to be a GOOD HOME for its subsidiaries on a long-term basis. Although its acquisition activities are not limited to a certain sector, AURELIUS has placed a certain emphasis on the following sectors: industrial enterprises, chemicals, business services, consumer goods/food & beverage and telecommunications, media & technology.

AURELIUS has many years of investment and management experience in different industries and sectors. AURELIUS improves the performance of its subsidiaries by providing management capacities and the necessary financial resources for investing in innovative products, sales and research. AURELIUS is a globally active company with offices in Munich and London and subsidiaries in Germany, Great Britain, France, Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Slovenia, as well as the United States, China, Malaysia, India, Thailand and South Korea. The shares of AURELIUS AG are traded in the m:access of the Munich Stock Exchange under ISIN DE000A0JK2A8. Additional information can be found at www.aureliusinvest.de .

Contact

Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Phone +49 (89) 544799 – 0

Fax +49 (89) 544799 – 55

investor@aureliusinvest.de

End of Corporate News

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196397  10.12.2012