Weather Investments Announces Sale of Part of Its Shares to Apax Partners, Madison...

Weather Investments Announces Sale of Part of Its Shares to Apax Partners, Madison Dearborn Partners and TA Associates

ROME--(Business Wire)--
Weather Investments S.p.A. ("Weather Investments") today announces
the sale of part of its shares for an amount equal to 1.1 billion euro
to funds managed by private equity firms Apax Partners Worldwide LLP,
Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC and TA Associates, Inc.

Naguib Sawiris, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Weather
Investments commented "With our new private equity partners in Weather
Investments we are ideally positioned to pursue our value growth
strategies leveraging on the strong operating performance in each of
our subsidiaries and to explore new areas of growth."

Richard Wilson, Head of Tech & Telecoms at Apax Partners,
commented: "We are delighted that our relationship with Naguib Sawiris
and his management team has culminated in this investment. He has
built an outstanding group of telecom operators, which we know well
through our presence on the ground in Italy and Asia, and our previous
ownership of TIM Hellas. This fits squarely into the investment
strategy of our telecoms team and we look forward to supporting the
continued growth of Weather." Mr. Wilson will join the board of
Weather.

"TA Associates is proud to be investing with Naguib Sawiris, an
outstanding global entrepreneur in the telecommunications industry,"
said Ajit Nedungadi, a Managing Director of TA Associates. "We have
been following Naguib since 2005 and have been very impressed with the
business that he and his team have built. Telecommunications is an
area of strategic focus for TA, and Weather Investments provides an
exciting opportunity to invest in a diversified portfolio of high
growth emerging market assets combined with strong challenger
businesses in Italy and Greece. We look forward to working with Naguib
and his team, as well as our co-investors at Apax and Madison
Dearborn, to continue to build one of the most successful global
telecommunications companies." Mr. Nedungadi will join the Board of
Weather.

"Madison Dearborn has a long and successful track record investing
in the wireless industry," said Michael P. Cole, a Managing Director
of Madison Dearborn Partners. "We are excited about the opportunity to
invest with a world-class entrepreneur like Naguib Sawiris, and to
continue to grow Weather's diverse portfolio of wireless and wireline
assets within very attractive markets. We like Weather's strong
position in key global markets and its successful track record in
emerging markets where demand for wireless service continues to grow.
We look forward to working with Weather, Apax Partners and TA
Associates to build upon the company's impressive track record of
success." Mr. Cole will join Weather's board of directors.

About Weather Investments

Weather Investments S.p.A. is a leading international
telecommunications company offering mobile, fixed, Internet and
international communication services to over 90 million subscribers in
Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Pakistan, and Tunisia and
has acquired in early 2008 a license to operate mobile services in
North Korea. Weather Investments operates through its subsidiaries
Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E., Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. and Wind
Hellas S.A.. Weather is the entry point of choice for both technically
advanced attractive markets and high growth, under penetrated emerging
markets.

About Apax Partners

Apax Partners is one of the world's leading private equity
investment groups. It operates across the United States, Europe and
Asia and has more than 30 years of investing experience. Funds under
the advice of Apax Partners total $40 billion around the world. These
Funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen
world-class companies. Apax Partners Funds invest in companies across
its global sectors of Tech & Telecom, Retail & Consumer, Media,
Healthcare and Financial & Business Services. Significant recent
investments by funds advised by the Apax Partners Tech & Telecom team
include: Bezeq, Intelsat, NXP, SMART Technologies, TDC, TIM Hellas and
Versatel. For more information visit: www.apax.com.

About Madison Dearborn Partners

Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP), based in Chicago, is one of the
most experienced and successful private equity investment firms in the
United States. MDP manages funds with more than US$17 billion in
equity commitments. MDP invests in management buyout and growth equity
transactions across a broad spectrum of industries. MDP is a leading
investor in the communications industry. Its wireless investments have
included Nextel Communications, Nextel Partners, MetroPCS
Communications, Inc., Omnipoint Corporation (acquired by Voicestream),
Alaska Native Wireless (joint venture with AT&T Wireless), and
Clearnet Communications (acquired by Telus). Other investments include
XM Satellite Radio, Intelsat and Univision. More information about MDP
can be found at www.mdcp.com.

About TA Associates

Founded in 1968, TA Associates is one of the largest and most
experienced private equity firms in the world. With offices in Boston,
Menlo Park and London, the firm manages $12 billion in capital and has
invested in more than 380 companies. TA Associates leads buyouts and
minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies in the
telecommunications, technology, financial services, business services,
healthcare and consumer industries. The firm has extensive expertise
investing in communications companies, including Asurion, Bachtel
Cellular Liquidity, Idea Cellular, MetroPCS Communications and SBA
Communications. More information about TA Associates can be found at
www.ta.com.

Weather Investments
Investor Relations
Stefano Songini, +39 06 8311 3099
ssongini@otelecom.com
or
Public Relations
Sabrine El Hossamy, =002024615140
SHossamy@OTELECOM.com
or
For Apax Partners:
Ben Harding, +44 (0)20 7872 6401
ben.harding@apax.com
or
For Madison Dearborn Partners:
Mark B. Tresnowski, +1 312-895-1040
mtresnowski@mdcp.com
or
For TA Associates:
Marcia O'Carroll, +1 617-574-6796
mocarroll@ta.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008