Observer pays dividend of SEK 0.45 per share

The Annual General Meeting of Observer AB on Thursday, April 28 approved a dividend of SEK 0.45 (0.45) per share. The record date is May 3 and the dividend is expected to be paid on May 9, 2005. Board of Directors The Annual General Meeting reelected Board members Örjan Håkanson, Maria Lilja, Ulf Ivarsson, Pia Gideon, Per-Eric Fylking and Robert Lundberg, and elected as a new member Peter Leifland. Board member Håkan Bryngelson declined reelection. Örjan Håkanson was elected Chairman at the statutory Board meeting. The Annual General Meeting in 2003 elected the accounting firm Ernst & Young AB as auditor, with Lars Träff as chief auditor, for the period until the Annual General Meeting in 2007. Authorization for share issue The Annual General Meeting authorized the Board of Directors, until the company’s Annual General Meeting in 2006, to decide on the issue of not more than 4,000,000 new shares in the company. The issue may deviate from the shareholders’ preferential rights to subscribe for new shares. The reason for the deviation from the shareholders’ preferential rights is that the new shares will be used to acquire operations or companies. Employee stock options The Annual General Meeting resolved to introduce a performance-related employee stock option program for around 35 senior executives in the Group. The stock options can be exercised to acquire shares in the company during the period May 15, 2007 – March 1, 2010 conditional on a specific increase in earnings per share for the fiscal year 2005 compared with fiscal year 2004. To ensure its obligation in accordance with the employee stock option program, the company is issuing promissory notes with detachable warrants to subscribe for new shares. If fully exercised, the proposed options would dilute the share capital and votes by approximately 0.9 percent. Observer AB (publ) For further information, please contact: Per Blixt, Senior VP Corporate Communications, telephone: +46 70 549 28 08, +46 8 507 410 12, e- mail: per.blixt@observergroup.com