Artisan Partners Limited Partnership ("Artisan") announced today that it has reached an agreement in principle with Hellman & Friedman LLC ("H&F") by which funds managed by H&F will make a minority investment in Artisan. The investment will allow current partners of Artisan (including employees) to reduce their interests in the firm through a combination of sales to the H&F funds and repurchases of partnership interests by Artisan using the proceeds of a simultaneous borrowing. Several individual partners of H&F who were among a small group of investors who provided initial capital to Artisan Partners when it was organized eleven years ago will not sell any of their interests in the transaction.

The H&F fund investment and the partnership interest buyback will provide an opportunity for some of Artisan Partners' founding generation of partners to begin to diversify their personal portfolios through partial sales of their interests while facilitating increased ownership by the younger generation of partners over time and maintaining the firm's commitment to long-term independence. Some of Artisan's original financial investors, not including those affiliated with H&F, may also take the opportunity to reduce their investment in the firm.

Control and management of Artisan Partners will not change. Each of the firm's portfolio management teams will remain in place, without change, and the firm will remain majority-owned by its employees. Andy Ziegler will continue as Artisan Partners' chief executive officer. Mr. Ziegler stated, "This important step for our firm was designed to allow us to grow and evolve while maintaining our historical commitment to independence. We are delighted that Hellman & Friedman is the equity participant, given our eleven-year relationship with that firm and its principals."