3i acquires 48 % of Atea

3i acquires 48 % of Atea Stockholm 2001-07- 05 · 3i Group plc including funds and WM-data AB have jointly formed Atea Holding AB, which will own Atea. Forceful continued development of Atea through organic growth and acquisitions. · Atea 2001 revenues estimated at SEK 7 billion with good profitability. 3i has together with WM-data formed a new company, Atea Holding AB. Atea Holding has signed an agreement to acquire the hardware supplier Atea including subsidiaries in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway from WM- data. 3i (through 3i Group plc, 3i Europartners IIIA LP and 3i Europartners IIIB LP) and WM-data AB (publ.) intend to own 48% each in the joint company, the remaining 4% will be offered to Atea's management team. The deal is conditional on approval from relevant competition authorities. Atea is a Nordic full solutions supplier of IT-products: Its business is to improve the efficiency of its customers' ownership of IT-equipment. The company has built solid Nordic sales and logistics operations and offers its customers an integrated concept covering the entire value chain: from ordering, purchasing and delivery to recycling and scrapping of old equipment. Atea is active within Intel products, portable computers, servers, licences and all kinds of accessories. The target market is the 300 largest companies in the Nordic countries, i.e. altogether over 1200 companies. Atea has 700 employees. Thomas Keifer is CEO and the company's revenues are estimated at SEK 7 billion in 2001, with good profitability. WM-data has during a number of years built a solid Nordic business within the supply of workstation equipment, servers and software. Atea was originally an integrated part of WM-data's IT-infrastructure business, but since January 2001 Atea is trading as a stand-alone company. 3i and WM-data intend to further develop Atea's unique integrated concept in the Nordic region, through organic growth as well as acquisitions. Gustav Bard, Managing Director, 3i Nordic plc (UK), Sweden branch, advisor to 3i Group plc: "Atea is currently in a growth phase and already one of the largest players in Europe within its field. Atea has a unique concept, a strong position in the market and a first class management team and organisation. This provides a solid base for profitable growth in the Nordic region. The industry is going through structural change and 3i has together with WM-data the resources to give Atea the opportunity to participate in this process." Thomas Keifer, VD, Atea: "This deal gives Atea a solid base for a strong development of our concept and our products in the Nordic region, and possibly other parts of Europe as well. Through 3i and WM-data's joint ownership, we will get industrially oriented as well as financially strong owners." For information please contact: Gustav Bard, Managing Director 3i Nordic plc (UK), Sweden branch, advisor to 3i Group plc: +46 (0) 8 506 101 51, +46 (0) 70 511 64 27 Thomas Keifer, CEO Atea: +46 (0) 733 98 00 06 Crister Stjernfelt, CEO and President of WM-data group: +46 (0) 8 670 2055, +46 (0) 733 98 00 04 Rickard Petri, Investor Relations and Communications WM-data group: +46 (0) 8 671 66 40, +46 (0) 733 98 00 18 NOTES TO EDITORS 3i brings capital, knowledge and connections to the creation and development of businesses around the world. It invests in a wide range of opportunities from start-ups to buy-outs and buy-ins, focusing on businesses with high growth potential and strong management. 3i invests in businesses across three continents through local investment teams in Europe, Asia Pacific and the USA. To date, 3i has invested over £13.5 billion (including co-investment funds). In the 12 months to 31st March 2001, an average of £7.8 million (including co- investment funds) was invested each working day. 3i's current portfolio is valued at almost £6 billion. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/07/05/20010705BIT00120/bit0002.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/07/05/20010705BIT00120/bit0002.pdf