3i Group plc (“3i”) today announces that ATESTEO, an international drivetrain testing specialist in which 3i invested in 2013, has acquired a majority stake in straesser, a leading player in road testing and vehicle test driving services.

The acquisition expands ATESTEO’s offering in the field of road trials, opening up significant growth potential.

Ulf von Haacke, Partner & Head of Industrial at 3i, commented:

“3i is pleased to support ATESTEO in this second add-on this year, following the acquisition of a drivetrain testing site in Munich in January. Both straesser and ATESTEO already have leading market positions and are growing strongly in their respective markets. They are highly complementary and together will be well positioned to lead the way in testing the quality of increasingly electrified and autonomous automotive technology.”

Wolfgang Schmitz, Chairman of the Management Board of ATESTEO, added:

“We continue to develop our portfolio of services for the benefit of our customers. By acquiring a majority stake in straesser, we are expanding our offering into an important growth market and extending our range of services to pre-series and series production tests, vehicle endurance runs, vehicle testing, and workshop activities for test vehicles. Together, we are a one-stop shop offering a comprehensive testing portfolio for the industry and we look forward to working with our new colleagues at straesser both in Germany and across Europe”.

straesser is headquartered in Kernen, near Stuttgart in Germany, and has over 280 employees. Its customer base comprises a wide range of well-known automotive manufacturers, suppliers and development and engineering service providers. Testing is carried out on proving and testing grounds as well as on public roads around the world.

straesser will continue to operate under its own name, but within the ATESTEO Group. Rolf Strässer will remain Managing Partner.

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For further information, contact:

3i Group plc
Silvia Santoro
Investor enquiries
Tel: +44 20 7975 3258
Email: silvia.santoro@3i.com

Kathryn van der Kroft
Media enquiries
Tel: +44 20 7975 3021
Email: kathryn.vanderkroft@3i.com

Notes to editors:

About ATESTEO

ATESTEO GmbH, headquartered in Alsdorf, is the worldwide leading independent service provider for drivetrain testing with its 460 employees and over 130 drivetrain testing test benches in Germany and China. Its customers include virtually all automotive and transmission manufacturers. The company offers quality assurance through efficient endurance tests and functional tests of manual and automatic transmissions, differentials, as well as hybrid and electric powertrains.

About 3i Group

3i is an investment company with two complementary businesses, Private Equity and Infrastructure, specialising in core investment markets in Northern Europe and North America.

3i’s Private Equity team provides investment solutions for growing companies, backing entrepreneurs and management teams of mid-market companies with an EV typically between €100m - €500m. We back international growth plans, providing access to our network and expertise to accelerate the growth of companies across the consumer, industrials and business and technology services industries.

For further information, please visit: www.3i.com