Francisco Partners Sells Majority Share in CORSAIR in a Transaction Valued at $525 Million

CORSAIR®, a world leader in high-performance PC components, gaming peripherals, and enthusiast memory, announced today that EagleTree Capital (“EagleTree”), formerly Wasserstein Partners, has reached a definitive agreement in partnership with current management to acquire a majority stake in CORSAIR from Francisco Partners and several minority shareholders. As part of the transaction, CORSAIR founder and Chief Executive Officer Andy Paul will maintain a sizable equity stake in the company and continue in his role as CEO. IMCO (Investment Management Corporation of Ontario) and the Honeywell pension are also co-investing alongside EagleTree, which is acting on behalf of its private equity fund EagleTree Partners IV.

“It has been our pleasure to partner with Andy and the team at CORSAIR. They have built an incredible company and are well positioned for continued success,” said Andrew Kowal, Partner at Francisco Partners. “We wish the company and EagleTree all the best in their next chapter of growth.”

“Francisco Partners was a great partner to CORSAIR over the last several years,” added Andy Paul. “Their counsel helped us accelerate our strategic objectives to diversify and deepen our product portfolio, realize an expanded global footprint, reinforce and focus our brand, and strengthen our financial position.”

Barclays Capital Inc. served as financial advisor and Paul Hastings LLP served as legal advisor to CORSAIR.

Macquarie Capital and BNP Paribas provided financing and acted as financial advisors to EagleTree on the transaction. Jones Day served as legal advisor to EagleTree.

The transaction is expected to close in the next several months, subject to customary closing conditions.

About Corsair
Founded in 1994, CORSAIR supplies high-performance products purchased primarily by PC gaming enthusiasts who build their own PCs or buy pre-assembled customized systems. The company's award-winning products include DDR3 and DDR4 memory, computer cases, PC cooling products, power supply units, mechanical keyboards, gaming mice, gaming headsets, USB flash drives, solid-state drives and system monitoring and control devices. For more information, visit www.corsair.com

About Eagle Tree Capital
EagleTree Capital, formerly Wasserstein Partners, is a leading independent private equity and investment firm, focused primarily on leveraged buyout investments and related investment activities. EagleTree manages capital on behalf of institutional and individual investors. The firm is focused on investments primarily in the media and communications, consumer products, and water and industrial sectors. EagleTree is located in New York. For more information, visit www.eagletree.com.

About Francisco Partners
Francisco Partners is a leading global private equity firm, which specializes in investments in technology businesses. Since its launch over 17 years ago, Francisco Partners has raised over $10 billion in capital and invested in nearly 200 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. The firm invests in opportunities where its deep knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For further information, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About IMCO
IMCO (Investment Management Corporation of Ontario) manages approximately CAD$60 billion on behalf of its clients. IMCO’s mandate is to provide broader public-sector clients with exceptional investment management services, including best in class advice around portfolio construction, efficient access to a diverse range of asset classes and superior reporting on risks and returns. Through its private equity program, IMCO has over CAD$1 billion in underlying fund investments, co-investments and direct investments. For more information, visit www.imcoinvest.com.