Fredrik Arp to Join Qioptiq as Chairman and CEO

PARIS, January 8 - Qioptiq, a global company which designs and manufactures
photonic products and solutions, today announced that after ten years as its
CEO, Benoît Bazire has left the Group in agreement with Candover, the
principal shareholders, to pursue alternative business opportunities.
Qioptiq, which was formerly known as High Tech Optics, was acquired by
Candover and its management in a buyout from Thales in December 2005. Mr
Bazire will retain an economic interest in Qioptiq.

Mr Bazire will be replaced by Fredrik Arp who joins the
company as Chairman and CEO, effective immediately. Mr Arp has held senior
executive positions in large global companies for the last 20 years, most
recently as CEO and president of the Volvo Car Corporation.

Nils Stoesser, a partner at Candover, said: "We thank Benoît
for the quality of his leadership as head of Qioptiq. During the four years
we worked with him, he has developed the company both internally, including
overseeing the construction of a state-of-the-art optics factory in
Singapore, and externally by way of acquisitions, including the purchase of
Linos in Germany and Point Source in the United Kingdom. The result has been
to position Qioptiq as a world-leading photonics company. We wish Benoit
every success in his new endeavors."

Benoit Bazire said: "I have had a great time with the Qioptiq
team, and I would like to thank them all for their dedication and
professionalism. With Candover's support we have been able to move the
business forward significantly, in line with our vision at the time of the
buyout: Qioptiq has become a major sector consolidator via a selective
acquisition strategy; we have invested in our resources and our people to
make the group a market leader in professional high-tech optics; and we have
built up a business model which has enabled the company to weather the
current economic storm."

Additional information for journalists:

Benoît Bazire served as Managing Director of the High Tech
Optics (HTO) activities of the Thales Group between 2000 and 2005. He was
appointed CEO of the Qioptiq Group in 2005. Mr. Bazire is an alumnus of the
Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale d'Administration and a graduate of
the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Techniques Avancées as well as Institut
d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, Previously, Mr. Bazire worked for a number of
years with the French Government, including time with the Minister of
Defence. Prior to joining HTO, he held a number of senior management
positions within Thales.

Fredrik Arp has held senior executive positions in large
global companies for the last 20 years, most recently as CEO and president of
the Volvo Car Corporation, and before that as CEO of Trelleborg AB, and PLM
AB, now part of Rexam plc. In addition, he has held numerous board positions
in companies operating across a variety of sectors such as medical technical
products, branded capital goods and technologies and systems suppliers. M.
Arp holds a Bachelor of Science in Business and Economics, as well as being a
Doctor in Economics h.c from the University of Lund in Sweden. Since 2004, Mr
Arp has been involved with Candover in various portfolio company roles, and
acted as a Senior Advisor to Candover in the Industrials sector.

Candover is a long established European buyout house, with a
30-year track record of making successful investments and realisations. The
company was established in 1980 as the UK's first dedicated buyout fund, and
today has a portfolio of companies across Europe, with a particular emphasis
on the UK, Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia.

Qioptiq is a world-leading optics company with locations
throughout Europe, Asia and North America. The company has an enviable
reputation spanning over 100 years for providing advanced optical systems,
equipment, modules and components for a diverse range of civilian and defense
applications. Qioptiq's manufacturing operations offer some of the most
advanced capabilities in optical system and module design, build and
manufacture. This capability extends from complex optical components to
complete turnkey optomechanical solutions in visible, infrared and
ultraviolet wavebands. Qioptiq employs over 2,400 people and generated
revenues of approximately US$400 million in 2008.

For further information visit: www.qioptiq.com

Photographs of Mr Arp are available on request - please contact: Richard Nelson (Press contact), Tel:+44(0)7795-422211, Fax: +44 (0)1483-202744, Email: Richard at kingswoodmktg.com