The Blackstone Group and PAI partners Acquire United Biscuits

The Blackstone Group and PAI partners are pleased to announce that
they have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire United
Biscuits for a purchase price in excess of GBP 1.6 billion. The
transaction will be financed through a combination of equity
contributed equally by Blackstone and PAI funds and debt financing. It
is expected that members of United Biscuit's management team will
participate in the ownership of the ongoing entity.

The Company is a leading European manufacturer of biscuits and
snacks. It is the number one player in the UK biscuit market with
well-known household brands such as McVitie's, go ahead! and Jacob's.
UB is also the number two business in the biscuit markets in France
and Belgium, joint number one in the Netherlands, the number two in
the UK bagged snacks market and UK cake market and the number one in
the UK nuts market.

Malcolm Ritchie, Chief Executive, UB says, "Blackstone has a
successful track record of owning and developing companies such as UB
and I believe the Company will benefit from their involvement. PAI is
one of our existing shareholders and we are delighted that they
continue to see the great potential of the business and want to remain
as shareholders. We delivered a strong half year result and we
continue to see opportunities to further develop our key brands in all
sectors."

David Blitzer, Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group,
says, "We are attracted to United Biscuits' market position as well as
its existing and new product lines. We look forward to partnering with
the strong management during this next step of the company's
evolution."

Bertrand Meunier, Senior Partner of PAI declares "We have known
United Biscuits for a long time and welcome the opportunity to
continue working with its outstanding management team which has led an
impressive turnaround. We fully support their strategy to continue to
develop market positions through new product developments and selected
acquisitions".

The completion of the transaction is subject to satisfaction of
customary conditions to closing, including the clearance by the
European Commission as well as consent of the UK Pension Regulator,
and is expected to close by December 2006. The equity financing
necessary for the transaction has been fully committed by Blackstone
and PAI and the debt financing necessary for the transaction has been
fully committed by Barclays, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, subject to
customary closing conditions including completion of definitive
documentation. Blackstone and PAI were also advised by JP Morgan,
Herbert Smith and Simpson Thacher.

Notes to editors

The Blackstone Group

The Blackstone Group, a global private investment and advisory
firm, was founded in 1985. The firm has raised a total of more then
$67 billion for alternative asset investing since its formation of
which approximately $30 billion has been for private equity investing.
The Private Equity Group is currently investing its fifth general
private equity fund with commitments of $15.6 billion, and has over 60
experienced professionals with broad sector expertise. Blackstone's
other core businesses include Private Real Estate Investing, Corporate
Debt Investing, Hedge Funds, Mutual Fund Management, Private
Placement, Marketable Alternative Asset Management, and Investment
Banking Advisory Services. Further information is available at
http://www.blackstone.com.

PAI partners

PAI is a leading European private equity firm with offices in
Paris, London, Madrid and Milan. PAI manages and advises dedicated
buyout funds with an aggregate equity value of over EUR 7 billion.

In recent years, PAI has led several high profile European
leveraged buyouts of sector-leading companies. Acquisitions have
included: Chr. Hansen, the worldwide leader in natural ingredients to
the food industry (EUR 1.1 billion); Coin, the market leading apparel
retailer in Italy (EUR 640 million); Cortefiel, the market leading
apparel retailer in Spain (EUR 1.5 billion); Elis, the European leader
in the textile rental and well-being services industry (EUR 1.5
billion); Global Closure Systems, the worldwide leader in speciality
and beverage closure systems (EUR 583 million); Kwik-Fit, Europe's
largest automotive fast-fit services provider (EUR 1.2 billion);
Saeco, the leading European coffee machine manufacturer (EUR 825
million); Saur, a leader in the water distribution, sanitation and
waste management in France (EUR 1 billion); Spie, a leading
multitechnical services company in France (EUR 980 million); Vivarte,
the leading specialist retailer of footwear and clothing in France
(EUR 1.5 billion) and Yoplait, the #2 worldwide producer of fresh
dairy products.

PAI is characterised by its operational approach to ownership
combined with industrial and sector expertise. PAI provides portfolio
companies with the financial and strategic support required to pursue
their development and enhance strategic value creation. For further
information on PAI partners: www.paipartners.com

United Biscuits

UB is the leading manufacturer and marketer of biscuits in the
U.K., joint number one in the Netherlands and the second largest in
France and Belgium. In the U.K., UB is the leading manufacturer and
marketer of packaged nuts and the second largest manufacturer and
marketer of savoury snacks and crisps. In Ireland, UB is number two in
biscuits and number three in snacks.

UB manufactures and markets a wide range of products in the U.K.
and continental Western Europe that are household names in their
respective markets. Branded products account for almost 90% of sales
in 2006. Among UB's popular brand names are McVitie's, Penguin, go
ahead!, McVitie's Jaffa Cakes, Jacob's, Jacob's Cream Crackers,
Twiglets, Hula Hoops, Skips, Mini Cheddars, McCoy's, Phileas Fogg and
KP Nuts in the U.K. and BN, Delacre, Verkade and Sultana in
Continental Europe. McVitie's is among the best known brands in the
U.K.. McVitie's biscuits were purchased by over 85% of UK households
in 2005.

UB owns and operates 15 manufacturing facilities of which 11 are
in the U.K. and employs over 9,000 people of whom over 7,500 work in
the U.K..