London, February 13, 2008 - Global private equity and venture capital company 3i, has agreed to back the buyout of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, a division of NYSE-listed Alpharma Inc., in a deal valued around $395 million.

To support the acquisition, GE Commercial Finance (sole Global Coordinator), CALYON Credit Agricole CIB, Danske Bank, European Capital Financial Services and HSH Nordbank AG, Nordic Area have provided a fully underwritten commitment for $270 million of credit facilities ($220 million of senior facilities and $50 million mezzanine facility). European Capital is providing the subordinated debt.

Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients is a leading company in the fast-growing injectable generics market and has over 60 years of industry experience. Its comprehensive product portfolio includes fermentation-produced active ingredients and finished dosage forms for a number of important antibiotic products.

The Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients business is headquartered in Oslo and operates manufacturing facilities in Oslo, Copenhagen, Budapest and Taizhou (China). The company has approximately 700 employees and generated $138.7 million of revenues in the first nine months of 2007.

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval.

3i is a world leader in private equity and venture capital. We focus on buyouts, growth capital, venture capital, infrastructure and Quoted Private Equity and invest across Europe, the United States and Asia. Our competitive advantage comes from our international network and the strength and breadth of our relationships in business. These underpin the value that we deliver to our portfolio and our shareholders. For more information, please visit www.3i.com.

The 3i European Buyout Business is a leader in the European mid-market. We lead mid-market buyouts up to €1bn, using insight from our local knowledge, international connections, and our sector teams. Managing €3bn invested over 60 companies across Europe, the business invests in all sectors, with a particular focus on media, healthcare and business support services. 3i recently raised a €5bn fund, the largest fund in Europe dedicated to mid-market buyouts.

GE Commercial Finance is the business-to-business finance unit of General Electric. With deep industry expertise and lending, leasing and financing services of every kind, GE Commercial Finance plays a key role in helping its customers grow. Conducting business in 35 countries, GE Commercial Finance has assets of over US$234 billion and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA. GE Commercial Finance Corporate Financial Services Europe shares GE's industrial knowledge and provides capital to customers of all sizes, utilizing GE's AAA balance sheet. GE Commercial Finance, Leveraged Finance is a unit of GE Corporate Finance Bank, which can lead arrange transactions requiring debt from $75 million upwards.

General Electric (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work - a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems

Calyon Crédit Agricole CIB is the Investment Banking arm of the Crédit Agricole Group. With over 13,000 employees in more than 55 countries, Calyon is active in a broad range of Capital Markets, Investment Banking and Financing activities. Calyon is a leading leveraged debt provider in Europe. Crédit Agricole Group is a globally leading full service financial institution being in the peer group of the ten leading banks worldwide. The group employs 133,000 professionals around the globe with strong operations in all financial centres and has over EUR 60bn capital and assets in excess of €1,250bn.

Media Contacts

Will Spiers
0207 302 6454
William.spiers@ge.com