Industry Updates

Castle Alternative Invest completes second line share buyback program

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

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Opalesque Industry Update - Castle Alternative Invest AG, the global fund of hedge funds investment company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and on the London Stock Exchange announced that it has completed the second line share buyback programme initiated on 21 June 2010. Accordingly, the second line on the SIX Swiss Exchange will be closed after market hours on Friday 22 October 2010.

Pursuant to this programme, CAI has repurchased 2,225,464 shares with a total consideration of CHF31.9million representing 5.78% of the shares currently in issue. The average purchase price per share was CHF14.34. This represents 11.29% of the shares that will be in issue after the capital reorganisation noted below. It is intended that a resolution be proposed to the 2011 Annual General Meeting to reduce the capital of the Company by the amount of shares acquired through the second line share buyback programme. After such cancellation, the Company would have 36,275,536 shares in issue, currently corresponding to a market capitalization of approximately CHF468.0 million.

However this capital reduction will be in addition to the capital reorganisation announced on 16 September 2010 which is expected to complete on or around 21 December 2010.

It remains the Directors' intention that the 15% average discount threshold and the maximum repurchase price of up to 95% of prevailing Net Asset Value per share will continue to apply to any possible future share repurchases for cancellation which result from the Company's stated discount control provision.

The Company was originally listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange in January 1997 and additionally listed on the London Stock Exchange on 5 June 2009. In US Dollar terms, CAI’s net asset value has achieved a net annualized return of 6.86%* since inception, compared to an annualized return of 2.69% for the MSCI World Index, with correlation to the index of 0.48*. Thomas Weber, partner and head of hedge fund investment management at LGT Capital Partners, has been lead portfolio manager since inception.

Mark White, General Manager of Castle Alternative Invest AG, said:

“Since the intention to list CAI in London and implement a discount control policy was announced, the discount at which the Company’s shares trade has narrowed from more than 25% to around 15% and the shares are now trading in-line with the listed fund of hedge fund sector as a whole. CAI has a longstanding track record of delivering consistent returns with low correlation to traditional asset classes and we believe it is an attractive vehicle for investors seeking diversified exposure to hedge funds.”

CAI seeks to achieve long term capital growth through investment in a well diversified and actively managed portfolio of hedge funds, managed accounts and other investment vehicles. Corporate website: www.castleai.com

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