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LONDON (October 29, 2007) - Arcapita Bank B.S.C.(c), a leading international investment firm headquartered in Bahrain, announced today that it and its affiliates have sold South Staffordshire Plc, the UK based water company, to the Alinda Infrastructure Fund, a USD 3 billion institutional fund managed by Alinda Capital Partners LLC, an independent private investment firm, for an undisclosed amount.

Arcapita acquired South Staffordshire in November 2004. Since then, Arcapita has worked closely with the management team in building the business and this is particularly reflected in the growth of the three non-regulated businesses, which include the establishment of the Echo outsourced customer contact management operation in Belfast and of the specialist Water & Wastewater businesses serving the UK water utility industry.

South Staffordshire Water has been consistently ranked in the top three in Ofwat's performance assessment for the past seven years and has 99.97 per cent compliance with EU water quality standards. Qaisar Zaman, Arcapita's European Head of Asset-Based Investment, commented: "We have been very pleased to have owned South Staffordshire and to have contributed to its growth. We are particularly proud of the high levels of service and quality it has achieved. It is one of the best performing water companies in the UK with one of the lowest household bills for customers."

Chris Beale, Managing Partner of Alinda, said: "This is an excellent strategic fit for us. South Staffordshire is a well established business with an outstanding operating history, a reputation for customer excellence, a strong management team and dedicated employees. This transaction will be seamless for South Staffordshire's customers, who will continue to receive the same high quality and service."

Dresdner Kleinwort acted as financial adviser to Arcapita and RBC Capital Markets acted as financial advisor to Alinda.

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