Hellman & Friedman Signs a Definitive Agreement to Acquire Saipem's S.A. 30% Interest in Gaztransport & Technigaz S.A.S. ("GTT")

London (ots/PRNewswire) - Saipem S.A and investment
partnerships affiliated with Hellman & Friedman LLC ("H&F"), executed
a definitive agreement under which H&F will acquire Saipem's 30%
ownership stake in Gaztransport & Technigaz S.A.S. ("GTT") for EUR310
million. GTT is the leading marine engineering company operating in
the liquefied natural gas ("LNG") sector and is based near Paris in
Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse and has over 200 employees.

Saipem is the leading international turnkey contractor operating
in the oil and gas industries. H&F is a leading global private equity
group specialising in service sectors including financial services,
software, media, energy and industrial services. The interests of Gaz
de France S.A. and Total S.A. in GTT will remain unchanged with
ownership stakes of 40% and 30% respectively.

GTT is a highly-specialised marine technology company occupying a
leadership position in the engineering and design of membrane
containment systems for the storage and transportation of LNG on
ships. The Company provides design know-how and expertise to all the
major LNG ship builders and ship operators in the world.

Patrick Healy, head of H&F's business in Europe said: "Over our
24 year history we have made more than 30 minority investments
alongside large corporates, private entrepreneurs and family
businesses. We are delighted to become a shareholder in GTT with Gaz
de France and Total and are committed to helping the current
management team in further growing and developing the business. We
are grateful to Saipem, Gaz de France and Total for selecting us as
the purchaser and supporting us through this process."

Luca Velussi, Director of H&F said: "GTT's business sits at the
intersection of our energy and technology practices and our expertise
in investing in people businesses. We believe GTT occupies a unique
position in the LNG value chain with unparalleled track record in the
development of membrane containment systems."

Lehman Brothers assisted Saipem S.A. while H&F was advised by
UBS.

About Hellman & Friedman

Hellman & Friedman LLC is a global private equity investment firm
with offices in London, New York and San Francisco. Since its
founding in 1984, the Firm has raised and managed approximately US$16
billion of committed capital. The Firm's strategy is to invest in
superior business franchises and to be a value-added partner to
management in select industries including energy, media, financial
services, professional services, and information services.
Representative investments include Texas Genco, DoubleClick, Inc.,
the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (NDAQ), Gartmore Investment Management
Limited, Axel Springer AG (ASV GR), ProSieben Sat.1 AG (PSM GR),
Formula One Holdings, Ltd, LPL Holdings, Mondrian Investment
Partners, Ltd., AlixPartners, and others.

For more information on Hellman & Friedman, visit
http://www.hf.com.

ots Originaltext: Hellman & Friedman
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

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For further information contact: For Hellman & Friedman - Hugh
Morrison/Caroline Villiers, M:Communications, Tel: +44-207-153-1521,
villiers@mcomgroup.com; Steve Bruce/Pen Pendleton/Monica Everett, The
Abernathy MacGregor Group, Tel: +1-212-371-5999, SB@abmac.com /
PWP@abmac.com / MCE@abmac.com


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