Birka Energi acquires Upplands Väsby€s holding in Brista Kraft AB and the municipal heating network

Press Release (code: 330485) Stockholm, 31.03.2000 Birka Energi acquires Upplands Väsby's holding in Brista Kraft AB and the municipal heating network Upplands Väsby Municipality and Birka Energi have reached agreement in respect of the transfer of the Municipality's 50-per-cent shareholding in Brista Kraft AB. This makes Birka Energi the sole owner of the company. Birka Energi will also take over the Municipality's directly owned district heating network. The net purchase price for the shares and the network is SEK 116 million. The agreement is subject to approval by the Upplands Väsby Municipal Council and verification by the competition authorities. Brista Kraft AB owns and operates district heating production and sales in the municipalities of Sigtuna and Upplands Väsby. Upplands Väsby Municipality operates the district heating network on its own account. It supplies district heating equivalent to approx. 480 GWh. Brista Kraft also has 34,000 electricity customers, and its sales of electricity amount to approx. 800 GWh. Last week Birka Energi reached agreement on the acquisition of Sigtuna Energi AB, which owns the other 50 per cent of the shares in Brista Kraft. "It is gratifying to know that we have reached an agreement with Birka Energi which will safeguard our supplies of district heating," says Vanja Edwinson, Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of Upplands Väsby Municipality. "Our position was decided partly by the fact that Birka Energi is a highly competent player in the district heating sector, and partly by the fact that Birka Energi has met the Municipality's major district heating customers and reached agreement with them in respect of long-term and sound supply contracts. We will also strengthen the Municipality's finances by paying off loans, lowering our interest charges and reducing our exposure to risk by dispensing with guarantee commitments." Birka Energi's MD, Tomas Bruce, sees Brista Kraft AB as an important contribution to the task of integrating and increasing the efficiency of the district heating system in the Stockholm region. "We already have one of Europe's most efficient and most environmentally friendly energy systems. With Brista Kraft AB and the network in Upplands Väsby, we will be in a position to optimise the system even further," says Tomas Bruce. Birka Energi is one of Scandinavia's largest energy companies with approx. 850,000 customers, an electricity turnover of approx. 26 TWh, heating sales of 8 TWh and a turnover of approx. 13,000 million kronor. The City of Stockholm and Fortum Abp each own half of Birka Energi. Further details are available from: Vanja Edwinson, Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of Upplands Väsby Municipality, Tel. +46 8 590 970 29, Mobile +46 708 57 70 29 Björn Eklundh, Chief Executive Officer of Upplands Väsby Municipality, Tel. +46 8 590 970 31, Mobile +46 708 57 70 31 Mats Welander, Finance Director of Upplands Väsby Municipality, Tel. +46 8 590 974 73 or Mobile +46 70 857 70 73 Tomas Bruce, CEO of Birka Energi AB, Tel. Mobile +46 70 771 79 60 Merril Boman, Executive VP Communications of Birka Energi AB, Tel. +46 8 671 79 51 or Mobile +46 70 590 79 75 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/03/31/20000331BIT00130/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/03/31/20000331BIT00130/bit0002.pdf