Atlas Copco to write down the value of rights to notes

Stockholm, Sweden, December 21, 2007: Atlas Copco has decided to write down to zero the value of the Group’s rights to notes, which were a conditional extra-payment in the 2006 divestment of its US construction equipment rental business. The charge, approximately MSEK 850, will be booked in the fourth quarter, as a financial cost without cash-flow effect.

Issuance of the interest-bearing notes is contingent upon RSC Equipment Rental Inc. reaching certain agreed EBITDA levels during the period 2006-2008. The analysts’ average estimates indicate an increase in EBITDA in 2007 over 2006 and a further increase in 2008, but the EBITDA is not anticipated to reach the threshold levels that would require RSC Holdings Inc. to issue notes to Atlas Copco.

Atlas Copco also owns approximately 11.5% of the shares in RSC Holdings Inc. The market value of the shares, as per December 19, 2007, is approximately MSEK 950, which exceeds the initial book value by approximately MSEK 570. This unrealized value-increase has been recognized directly in equity during the year. In the event of a sale of the shares, the realized result would be recorded in the income statement.