ST. PETER PORT, Guernsey, September 13 /PRNewswire/ --

European Capital Financial Services Limited ("European Capital"), the 
sub-investment manager of European Capital Limited (LSE: ECAS), is pleased 
to announce, as part of the company's further expansion in the German market,
the appointment of Bernd Schaessburger as an Investment Director. The 
appointment is effective September 1. Bernd joins the Frankfurt based team 
headed by Managing Director Robert von Finckenstein, which was successfully 
ramped up during the past months and now numbers four professionals. A 
fifth member has been hired and will join the team shortly. This completes 
the initial team of European Capital in Frankfurt.

"We believe that a strong local team will enable European Capital to 
expand its pan-European mezzanine activities significantly," said
Nathalie Faure Beaulieu, Managing Director and Head of Pan European Mezzanine
at European Capital.

European Capital is an affiliate of American Capital Strategies
Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS), a U.S.-based publicly traded alternative asset manager
with approximately US$17(1) billion in assets under management. April 2007
saw the opening of the Frankfurt office, which works together closely with
the European mezzanine team headed by Nathalie Faure Beaulieu in London.

With the opening of the Frankfurt office, and the assembling of
an experienced local team, European Capital is poised to tap the attractive
opportunities available in the German market. Since inception, European
Capital has, through its offices, already made significant commitments
providing mezzanine capital to seven German transactions. European Capital
has thus positioned itself as a leading independent mezzanine investor in
Germany.

German team with wide-ranging experience

Bernd Schaessburger boasts a broad range of mezzanine
experience. Prior to joining European Capital, Bernd worked in the mezzanine
finance industry at DAM Capital in London and, before that, at Dresdner
Kleinwort, Frankfurt, spending two years at each. His responsibilities
included origination and the structuring and execution of new investments.
Previously, he spent about five years as an investment manager at a German
private equity firm, where he was involved in transactions across a variety
of industries as well as exit management. During this time, Bernd also served
as a supervisory board member at portfolio companies. Bernd holds a Diploma
in Business Administration from the University of Siegen.

Hans Twietmeyer joined European Capital in June 2007 as an
Investment Director in the company's Frankfurt office. Prior to joining
European Capital, he worked in the Leveraged Finance Division at Societe
Generale for three years and, prior to that, in the Leveraged Finance
Division at Royal Bank of Scotland for about four years. Hans was involved in
structuring and arranging numerous transactions, including LBOs, real-estate
and project finance-related projects. Hans began his career at Deutsche Bank.
He holds a Diploma in Economics from the University of Gottingen.

Robert von Finckenstein has been Managing Director and head of
the Frankfurt office of European Capital since 2007. Prior to that, he was
Managing Director and Co-Head at Dresdner Anschutz Mezzinvest ("DAM") in
London. At DAM Advisors, he originated mezzanine and subordinated debt
transactions with an aggregate value of some euro 300 million for German
Mittelstand companies.

Further members of the European Capital team in Frankfurt
currently include Tuomas Erik Ekholm, Associate, and Miriam Schroeder, Office
Manager.

ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL

European Capital is a closed-end investment company for
pan-European equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments with capital
resources of approximately euro 2.3 billion (US$3.2 billion). European
Capital invests in and sponsors management and employee buyouts, invests in
private equity buyouts and provides capital directly to private and public
companies headquartered predominantly in Europe. European Capital generally
invests between euro 5 million and euro 500 million per transaction in
equity, mezzanine debt and senior debt to fund growth, acquisitions and
recapitalizations.

Companies interested in learning more about European Capital
should contact Robert von Finckenstein at +49-(0)-69-71-71-297-0 in
Frankfurt, Nathalie Faure Beaulieu or Simon Henderson at +44-(0)-20-7539-7000
in London, Jean Eichenlaub at +33-(0)-1-40-68-06-66 in Paris, or Luis Felipe
Castellanos at +34-91-745-99-63 in Madrid, or visit the website at
www.EuropeanCapital.com.

ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL

American Capital Strategies Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS), is an affiliate
of European Capital and the only alternative asset management company that is
a member of the S&P 500. With US$17(1) billion in assets under management,
American Capital is the largest U.S. publicly traded private equity firm and
one of the largest publicly traded alternative asset managers. American
Capital, both directly and through its global asset management business, is
an investor in management and employee buyouts, private equity buyouts, and
early stage and mature private and public companies. American Capital
provides senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity to fund growth, acquisitions,
recapitalizations and securitizations. American Capital and its affiliates
invest from US$5 million to US$800 million per company in North America and
euro 5 million to euro 500 million per company in Europe.

(1) Assets under management is an estimate of internally and
externally managed assets as of July 31, 2007 and does not include any fair
value adjustments subsequent to June 30, 2007.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The
statements regarding expected results of European Capital and/or American
Capital are subject to various factors and uncertainties, including the
uncertainties associated with the timing of transaction closings, changes in
interest rates, availability of transactions, changes in regional, national
or international economic conditions, or changes in the conditions of the
industries in which European Capital and/or American Capital has made
investments.
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ST. PETER PORT, Guernsey, September 13 /PRNewswire/ --

Web site: http://www.EuropeanCapital.com

http://www.americancapital.com