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GTCR Announces Investment in Zayo Group to Finance Zayo’s Pending Acquisition of AboveNet

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

GTCR, a leading Chicago-based private equity firm, announced today it will invest in Zayo Group, LLC ("Zayo") to finance its pending acquisition of AboveNet, Inc. (NYSE: ABVT; "AboveNet") for $84.00 per share of AboveNet common stock and a total transaction value of $2.2 billion. As part of the transaction, GTCR will partner with Chief Executive Officer Dan Caruso and other senior executives from Zayo. Mr. Caruso and his team founded Zayo in 2006 and have built a leading bandwidth infrastructure provider with an excellent value creation track record.

AboveNet is a leading pure-play provider of fiber infrastructure services to enterprise and carrier customers in the United States and Europe. The AboveNet and Zayo business models are closely aligned with a disciplined focus on high bandwidth fiber-based communications services. The combination will create value for customers, employees and investors with a fiber network spanning 60,000 route miles.

GTCR Principal, Philip Canfield said, "We have followed the progress of Dan and his leadership team at Zayo for some time and, together, we have been looking for opportunities to do acquisitions in the bandwidth infrastructure domain. Dan and his team have a long history of success and value creation and exemplify the traits and characteristics associated with the GTCR Leaders Strategy. We look forward to working with Dan and all of Zayos existing shareholders to build upon their past success in the bandwidth infrastructure domain.

"GTCR's impressive track record of partnering with leaders to build companies through growth and acquisitions combined with their domain expertise in technology makes them a perfect partner for Zayo," commented Dan Caruso. "We are thrilled to have a new equity partner who shares our commitment to growing our business and providing vital bandwidth infrastructure to our customers."

Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel to GTCR. GTCR's proposed equity investment to finance the transaction will be made from GTCR Fund X, a private equity fund raised in 2011 with $3.25 billion of committed capital.

About GTCR

Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies in the Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Information Services & Technology industries. The Chicago-based firm pioneered the Leaders Strategy finding and partnering with management leaders as the critical first step in identifying, acquiring and building market-leading companies through acquisitions and organic growth. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $9 billion in over 200 companies. For more information, please visit http://www.gtcr.com.

About Zayo Group

Zayo Group is a national provider of fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure and network-neutral colocation and interconnection services. Zayo serves wireline and wireless carriers, data centers, internet content and services companies, high bandwidth enterprises as well as federal, state and local government agencies. Zayo provides these services over regional, metro, national and fiber-to-the-tower networks. Zayos network assets include over 45,000 route miles, covering 42 states plus Washington D.C. Additionally, Zayo has approximately 5,200 buildings and 2,300 cell towers on-net, and over 94,000 square feet of billable colocation space. For more information, please visit http://www.zayo.com.

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GTCR Announces Investment in Zayo Group to Finance Zayo’s Pending Acquisition of AboveNet

Princeton venture capital firm and Russians collaborate on life sciences

Domain Associates latest investment is as much a bet on Russia as it is on the potential of new medicines.

The Princeton-based venture capital firm is teaming up with the Russian government-backed investment group Rusnano in an ambitious deal to bring new medicines and medical devices to Russias emerging healthcare market.

Its very daunting and its very exciting, said Brian Dovey, a partner at Domain. The Russian government is very committed to establishing a regional pharmaceutical industry.

The agreement calls for Rusnano and Domain to co-invest in as many as 20 U.S. life science companies with products in advanced stages of development. The joint investment will provide up to $660 million over a three-year period to the companies all of which will be selected from Domains existing portfolio.

And theres more to the deal a specialty pharmaceutical company will be created in Russia and through a combination of technology transfer agreements and licensing arrangements, the new company will have rights to manufacture and sell products resulting from the joint venture. In that way, Russia will gain a local pharmaceutical company with a variety of products in a few years far quicker than if the business was started from scratch. Forming the new company will be funded with an additional $190 million, according to the agreement.

Domain, which has $2.4 billion of capital under management, is known throughout the country for its investments in the life science industry. Nearly 25 years ago, it provided early financing to Amgen and helped the company grow into a biotech giant. Its portfolio also includes such names as Align Technology, which makes clear braces and Cardiac Science, a defibrillator maker.

The collaboration with Rusnano represents its first venture in Russia.

Its not such an unusual bet though. With the market for initial public offerings withered by the wobbly world economy and many early-stage companies considered too risky, venture capitalists are putting their money on the promise of emerging markets.

In addition to Russia, venture capitalist firms are pouring money into China and India. For Russia, the partnership provides a leveraging of Domains life sciences expertise and for Domain, the partnership is strengthened by Rusnanos knowledge of Russia and neigboring markets in Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Pavel Rodyukov, Rusnanos senior investment manager, said the group will invest in products that are in the later stages of development, enabling them to go to market within about four years. This will be one of the first big players in a regional pharmaceutical industry, Rodyukov said. It is also the countrys first brush with innovation in the pharmaceutical area.

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Princeton venture capital firm and Russians collaborate on life sciences

FlightGangMuzik Producing New Single For Y-Dot @ GRINDE SEASON STUDIOS – Video

18-03-2012 16:45 Y Dot @ GRINDE SEASON STUDIOS With (FlightGangMuzik)

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FlightGangMuzik Producing New Single For Y-Dot @ GRINDE SEASON STUDIOS - Video

Lord Knows – Video

18-03-2012 18:59 NEW VIDEO FORM KP_SUCKAFREE OFF OF THEIR NEW MIXTAPE "WELCOME TO THE GUILLOTINE VOL.3" download link below http://www.kpsuckafree.bandcamp.com

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Lord Knows - Video

B Rolla Feat. BC (B Dot) – Maybe I Should Be A Playa (Prod. Track King Cole) – Video

19-03-2012 00:19 B Rolla Featuring BC (B Dot) Produced by Track King Cole Follow @BRolla on Twitter RIP Quincy Blue aka B Dot Subscribe!!!!

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B Rolla Feat. BC (B Dot) - Maybe I Should Be A Playa (Prod. Track King Cole) - Video