QUALITAS EQUITY PARTNERS raises a Private Equity Fund.   Date: January 2002 QUALITAS FUND BEGINS WITH A INITIAL COMITTED CAPITAL OF MORE THAN €30 MILLION Qualitas Equity Partners announces today the initial closing of its private equity fund with an amount of more than €30 million. A total amount of €60 million is expected be raised within 12 months. Timón S.A, a major shareholder of Grupo Prisa, is the primary investor and sponsor of the fund. Qualitas Equity Partners was formed by Eric Halverson, Iñigo Olaguibel, and Thomas Utzmeier. They have previous experience in companies such as McKinsey, Santander Central Hispano, UBS Warburg, and UBS Capital where they have closed private equity operations worth more than €500 million. The generalist private equity Fund, Qualitas Fund I, will make investments of €2 to €12 million in unlisted companies. Qualitas Equity Partners will focus on companies operating in sectors with a large potential for aggregation, so-called “Buy & Build” operations, and where it can provide an added value to the portfolio companies. The potential for international expansion and a minimum turnover are key considerations for investment. The Team of the fund has deep international experience and will look for opportunities to help Spanish companies grow abroad. Eric Halverson indicates that, at the time of investment, Qualitas Equity Partners, will consider “leveraged structures and mezzanine financing”. Iñigo Olaguibel, another partner of Qualitas Equity Partners, explains that Fund I will be focused “on companies in expansion with a solid market position but with the objective to develop new products or to grow in new markets. These companies must have a minimum turnover of €10 million”. Thomas Utzmeier, the third of the partners of Qualitas Equity Partners, says the fund is looking for companies with “an experienced management team, to whom we could add value to manage their operations in Spain and when moving to other countries in Europe”.