Gambro initiates manufacturing consolidation and relocation

Gambro initiates manufacturing consolidation and relocation Stockholm, Sweden - Gambro AB (Stockholm Stock Exchange: GAMBaST, GAMBbST), a leading international healthcare company, today announced the transfer of Gambro Renal Care Products manufacturing operations located in Lakewood, Colorado and Newport News, Virginia to other Gambro manufacturing sites in Europe and Mexico. A total of approximately 450 employees will be affected, 250 at the Lakewood site and 200 at Newport News. In addition, a manufacturing unit in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with about 30 employees will be divested or closed

Investor Looking Into All Conceivable Future Alternatives for Scania

Investor Looking Into All Conceivable Future Alternatives for Scania "We have previously said that Scania is a strong company that has excellent possibilities for developing on its own strength, which is substantiated by the preliminary yearend earnings report that has just been published," says Claes Dahlbäck, president and chief executive officer of Investor AB. "Our intention is to find the best future strategy for Scania, and thus also for its employees and its shareholders. This means that we, very thoroughly and carefully, must look into all conceivable future alternatives for Scania.

Preliminary income statement for Scania, 1998

Preliminary income statement for Scania, 1998 At Scania's Board Meeting a decision was taken to provide the following preliminary income statement for the 1998 financial year and an assessment of the prospects for 1999. In response to AB Volvo's acquisition of shares in Scania AB the investment bank Alfred Berg has been retained to advise the Board and the Management. Sales and income The number of invoiced vehicles in 1998 amounted to 49,674 (46,976), an increase of 6 percent over the previous year. The Scania Group's sales increased preliminarily by 14 percent to SEK 45.2 bn (39.7). The

Nielsen & Bainbridge divestment finalized

Nielsen & Bainbridge divestment finalized The previously announced sale of Nielsen & Bainbridge to The Jordan Company (United States) has now been finalized and completed essentially in accordance with the agreement reported earlier. As previously agreed, the total consideration is USD 160 million. According to the terms of the final agreement, Esselte has agreed to participate in the purchaser's financing on commercial terms and conditions with in total USD 35 million whereof 15 MUSD as a convertibel debenture. Esselte will record a pretax capital gain of approximately SEK 460 million on

Invitation - Brief presentation of restructuring program

Brief presentation of restructuring program Today Gambro has announced a planned restructuring and efficiency improvement program in the Renal Care Products business area. A brief presentation of these plans will be made by Sören Mellstig, Executive Vice President and responsible for the business area. The presentation will take place today, Monday January 18, 1999 at 13.00 hrs at Gambro's head office, Hamngatan 2, Stockholm. The presentation will be held in Swedish and will take no more than 15-20 minutes, after which there will be opportunities for questions. You are cordially invited to

Gambro launches restructuring of Renal Care Products business

Gambro launches restructuring of Renal Care Products business Stockholm, Sweden - Gambro AB (Stockholm Stock Exchange: GAMBaST, GAMBbST), a leading international healthcare company, today announced a global, two year restructuring and efficiency improvement program for its Renal Care Products business. Its objectives are to reinforce Gambro's commitment to quality renal care, secure continued good growth, improve profitability and to restore group operating (EBITDA) margins which, at the close of the period, should reach 20 percent. The restructuring program follows the completion of an

Percy Barnevik Receives "Polish Business Oscar"

Percy Barnevik Receives "Polish Business Oscar" The Polish Business Club has chosen Percy Barnevik as recipient of "The Polish Business Oscar." The award will be presented by the President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, at a ceremony in the Royal Castle in Warsaw on the evening of Friday, January 15. The annual award was established "to honor persons who have contributed to furthering Poland's efforts to become a member of the European Union and to take the role of an equal partner in the family of democratic nations." Previous recipients of the award include former U.S. National

Comment from Scania Management on Volvo€s acquisition of Scania shares

Comment from Scania Management on Volvo's acquisition of Scania shares Scania's Management notes with surprise that Volvo AB has acquired shares corresponding to 13.47 percent of the votes and 12.85 percent of the capital of Scania AB. No advance negotiations regarding a merger have been conducted with Scania's Management. The Management of the Scania Group has no further comments on Volvo's acquisition of Scania shares. Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 23,800 employees and

Sifo Group financial information during 1999

Financial information is planned to be released the following dates during 1999: Preliminary report on 1998 operations February 17 Annual report March/April 3-month report April 26 Annual General Meeting 1999 April 26 6-month report August 9-10 9-month report October 27 For further information, please contact: Jan-Erik Jansson, CFO, phone +46 8 625 15 42 This press release can also be accessed online at http://www.sifogroup.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download:

Corporate Finance

Corporate Finance - New organization In order to further streamline the organization and enhance the overall efficiency, the function Corporate Finance has been reorganized as follows: The current departments Group Accounting, Global Tax Planning, Parent Company Accounting & Administration and Financial Planning & Control will form a new department: Corporate Control. Corporate Control will co-ordinate from a Group point of view: - all consolidated financial reporting, i.e., monthly, quarterly and annual reports - internal as well as external reports - budgeting and forecasting process -

Record deliveries for Volvo Trucks in 1998

RECORD DELIVERIES FOR VOLVO TRUCKS IN 1998 In 1998 Volvo Trucks delivered a preliminary total of 83,279 units, an increase of 21 per cent compared with 1997. Sales showed the following distribution: 1997 1998 Europe, total 34,470 42,354 +23 of which 31,037 37,810 +22 Western Europe Eastern Europe 3,433 4,544 +32 20,905 29,314 +40 North America South America 6,971 6,020 -14 4,711 3,762 -20 Asia 1,924 1,829 -5 Other markets 68,981 83,279 +21 Total The inflow of orders in 1998 increased by 12 per cent and the order book by 21 per cent compared with 1997. "In many ways, 1998 was a successful

Investor Comments on Volvo€s Acquisition of Shares in Scania

Investor Comments on Volvo's Acquisition of Shares in Scania "It is unfortunate that Volvo with this action has made discussions that have been conducted so far more difficult," says Investor's president and chief executive officer, Claes Dahlbäck, commenting on Volvo's acquisition of shares in Scania. "Our judgement is that Scania is a strong company that has excellent possibilities for positive development of its own. Investor has, however, as the largest owner in Scania, been contacted by and has had discussions not only with Volvo but also with other companies in the sector. Our

Gunnebo has signed a 5-year multi-currency revolving credit facility.

Gunnebo has signed a 5-year multi-currency revolving credit facility. Gunnebo has now signed the syndication of the formally announced 5-year multi-currency revolving credit facility. The syndication was oversubscribed. The size of the facility is DEM 280,000,000. The interest margin is 0,3 per cent to 0,35 per cent, depending on equity ratio. Gunnebo has through the agreement catered for all of its present needs for funding. The arrangers are SEB Debt Capital Markets and MeritaNordbanken. The syndication involves totally 11 banks. Göteborg January 15, 1999 GUNNEBO AB Information For

Akzo Nobel Sells European Plastic Tubes Business

Akzo Nobel Sells European Plastic Tubes Business Arnhem, the Netherlands, January 14, 1999. - Akzo Nobel N.V. has sold its U.K. based Plastic Tubes business to the existing senior management team of the business. Plastic Tubes is a leading manufacturer in the U.K. of extruded plastic tubes primarily for the toiletries and cosmetics markets. The acquisition of Courtaulds by Akzo Nobel became unconditional on July 7, 1998. Courtaulds had previously announced that it intended to sell its Polymer Products group of businesses, comprising Packaging and Performance Films. Akzo Nobel is continuing

Volvo acquires 12.85 percent of Scania

VOLVO ACQUIRES 12.85 PERCENT OF SCANIA Volvo has today acquired 13,613,148 A-shares and 12,089,330 B-shares, representing 13.47 percent of Scania's voting interest and 12.85 percent of its capital interest. Volvo welcomes a discussion with Scania's shareholders regarding the potential combination of Scania and Volvo. As communicated to its investors, Volvo is committed to creating value within the automotive sector. For cars, this translates into a carefully defined niche strategy based on organic growth. For commercial vehicles, the strategy implies organic growth as well as growth through

Lower emissions for demanding customers

Lower emissions for demanding customers In conjunction with the opening of the commercial vehicle show today in Brus- sels, Scania launches a range of three low-emission truck engines, which ful- fils the Euro 3 emission standards that are expected to apply from October 2000. The new engines meet the demands of hauliers who are keen to reduce the environmental impact of their operations. "Scania makes this move to anticipate stricter environmental requirements from several regions, particularly from more densely populated areas in Europe," says Leif Östling, Scania President and CEO. "The

Clarifying note to press release: Refund of surplus by Merita Pension Fund

Clarifying note to press release: Refund of surplus by Merita Pension Fund As announced earlier today, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has granted the Merita Plc Pension Fund permission to refund to MeritaNordbanken Group companies a net amount of FIM 471 million of its actuarial surplus. The gross amount of the refund before tax is FIM 654 million. This amount will be presented in Group accounts after the operating profit as a separate item. It represents part of the estimated total refund of FIM 0.8 billion mentioned in our press release dated December 16, 1998. Further

Vestas Wind Systems, establishes production facilities in Nakskov

Business Unit Managers appointed at AssiDomän

Business Unit Managers appointed AssiDomän has appointed Business Unit Managers for Forestry, Wood Supply, Timber and Wood products. Forestry: Jonas Jacobsson (previously Director Forest Management, AssiDomän Skog & Trä) Wood Supply: The Business Unit consists of Wood Supply South, headed by Anders Dahlqvist (previously Regional Forest Director, AssiDomän) and Wood Supply North, headed by Björn Åström (previously Regional Forest Director, AssiDomän). Anders Dahlqvist is also teamleader for Wood Supply. Timber: Anders Nilsson (previously Marketing Director, AssiDomän Skog & Trä) Wood

Ericsson becomes official communications equipment provider to America's Cup

Ericsson becomes official communications equipment provider to America's Cup 2000 Ericsson and America's Cup 2000 Limited (AC 2000) announce an agreement making Ericsson the official communications equipment provider for the America's Cup 2000 event in Auckland, New Zealand. Signing on behalf of AC 2000, Sir Peter Blake described the agreement as "a key ingredient to provide enhanced media coverage of the event." Among other technologies from its portfolio, Ericsson will supply equipment and technology to enable the gathering of positioning data from the race yachts for a considerably

Satellite and Mobile Communication leaders join forces

Satellite and Mobile Communication leaders join forces to produce satellite air interface standard Satellite operators Asia Cellular Satellite (ACeS) and Euro-African Satellite Telecommunications (EAST) have joined forces with industry leaders Ericsson Mobile Communications, Lockheed Martin and Matra Marconi Space to create a satellite air interface standard named GMSS (Geostationary Mobile Satellite Standard). The GMSS will be developed from GSM, the world-wide cellular standard. This groundbreaking initiative by satellite system operators, satellite manufacturers, terminal vendors and

Refund of actuarial surplus by Merita Pension Fund

Refund of actuarial surplus by Merita Pension Fund The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has granted the Merita Plc Pension Fund permission for the refund to the MeritaNordbanken Group companies of FIM 471 million of its actuarial surplus. The refund will be booked as a reduction in expenses in the MeritaNordbanken Group's consolidated income statement for the year 1998. Tax payable by the Pension Fund on this refund totals FIM 183 million. Under the avoir fiscal system the tax paid by the Fund will be reimbursed to the companies receiving the refund. Subsequent to the refund the

MTG and ATG in strategic alliance

MTG AND ATG IN STRATEGIC ALLIANCE Modern Times Group MTG AB and the ATG betting company have signed an agreement on TV coverage of horse trotting and racing. "I am very pleased with this cooperation with MTG, a significant organisation in the media business," says ATG president Bengt Jönsson. The agreement applies to all V5 races, including Dagens Dubbel (Today´s Double). These races will be broadcasted at 22.00-22.30 hrs Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday within the framework of all ViaSat channel packages. The most inexpensive option ViaSat Plus costs SEK 79 per month and contains the

Symbian expands into Scandinavia with acquisition of Mobile Application Lab

Symbian expands into Scandinavia with acquisition of Ericsson Mobile Applications Lab Ericsson and Symbian today announced the acquisition by Symbian of Mobile Applications Lab, based in Ronneby, Sweden, a subsidiary of Ericsson Mobile Communications. The addition of the Ronneby centre takes place under the original agreement of the Symbian joint venture when it was agreed that each shareholder would contribute key personnel to aid the development of Symbian's EPOC operating system. The entire staff at the Ronneby site will be transferred to Symbian, who will develop the location into an