Bure acquires a majority shareholding in Carl Bro

Bure acquires a majority shareholding in Denmark's largest technology consulting company Bure has today signed an agreement to acquire an approximately 51 per cent holding in Carl Bro a/s, Denmark's largest technology consulting company, from Unibank and a number of small shareholders. The acquisition means that Bure becomes a key player in the restructuring of the Nordic technology consulting sector. "Bure's business objective as a proactive owner is to invest in knowledge-intensive service companies and develop new companies and sector structures. Our acquisition of Carl Bro means that we will have the opportunity to take part in restructuring the Nordic technology consulting sector. This sector is very fragmented and we see a significant potential for value-added structural changes of the type with which Bure has been involved in other sectors," says Peter Sandberg, CEO of Bure. Carl Bro was established in 1959 and is currently the largest Danish technology consulting company with approximately 2,100 employees. The company operates in the technology, IT/telecom, industrial, construction, transport and environment sectors. In 1999/2000, Carl Bro reported sales of DKK 1,446M and operating profit of DKK 35M. "Carl Bro holds a very strong market position in Denmark and has extensive knowledge. Our ambition is to build a leading Nordic operator with Carl Bro as the hub which, in a few years' time, can be floated on the stock market or participate in an industrial structural deal," says Börje Bengtsson, Senior Investment Manager in Bure and responsible for the holding in Carl Bro. "The technology consulting sector includes many attractive growth segments, offers good potential for acquisition, and shows signs of increasing consolidation and internationalisation." "We see Bure as the 'dream' partner for Carl Bro through its proven track record and experience of the knowledge industry," says Jesper Rasmussen, CEO of Carl Bro Group. "Bure will contribute the financial competence and the resources needed to enable us to take part in the restructuring of the sector." Bure will own Carl Bro in partnership with the company management and Löndmodtagarnes Dyrtidsfond. Carl Bro's head office is located in Glostrup outside Copenhagen and the company has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Germany. Approximately 60 per cent of Carl Bro's sales are generated in Denmark, around 15 per cent in the United Kingdom and about five per cent in Germany. International projects, including development and development aid projects, account for approximately 20 per cent. Customers include several of Denmark's largest companies and public authorities. Gothenburg, 10 October 2001 Bure Equity AB (publ) For further information, please contact: Börje Bengtsson, Senior Investment Manager, Bure +46 708 28 49 87 Jesper Rasmussen, CEO of Carl Bro a/s +45 27 23 45 45 Irene Axelsson, Head of Investor Relations, Bure +46 706 32 81 83 Bure Equity AB (publ) Bure is a leading private equity company in Sweden. Its business objective is to become a proactive owner in knowledge-intensive service companies with potential to become market leaders within their sectors. By investing capital, knowledge and experience, and providing access to our entire network, we develop companies and restructure whole sectors. Bure helps the companies to grow strong and remains a proactive owner until they have achieved leading positions. During the past year, we floated the healthcare company Capio, the IT integrator Dimension, and the media company Observer on the stock market. Bure has its base in Sweden but ours and our companies' perspective is international. www.bure.se ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/10/10/20011010BIT00050/bit0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/10/10/20011010BIT00050/bit0001.pdf