Press release from the Annual General Meeting of AB Custos, April 5, 2000

Press release from the Annual General Meeting of AB Custos, April 5, 2000 *The Annual General Meeting approved a dividend of SEK 11.50 per share for 1999 (for 1998: SEK 11.50). *The Meeting approved a final settlement of the synthetic buy-back program implemented under the provisions of a mandate from the 1999 Annual General Meeting, in the form of a redemption of shares targeted to Svenska Handelsbanken. *The Meeting authorized the Board to implement synthetic buy-backs of Custos' own shares. Total return, January 1 - March 31, 2000 Total return on Custos shares for the period was 11.4 percent for Series A shares and 9.8 percent for Series B shares. Return was thus about 8 percent above the cost of shareholders' equity. The Findata Yield Index rose by 13.9 percent during the same period. Net asset value, March 31, 2000 and April 4, 2000 Net asset value per Custos share on March 31, 2000 was calculated at SEK 274 (Dec. 31, 1999: 269). Assuming that the synthetically repurchased shares had been redeemed, net asset value was calculated at SEK 281 (Dec. 31, 1999: 276) per share. Net asset value per Custos share on April 4, 2000 was calculated at SEK 279. Assuming that the synethetically repurchased shares had been redeemed, net asset value was calculated at SEK 285 per share. Decisions at the Annual General Meeting Dividend The dividend for the 1999 financial year was fixed at SEK 11.50 per share and the record date on April 10, 2000. The dividend is expected to be paid on April 13, 2000. Redemption of Custos shares The Annual General Meeting approved a reduction of Custos' share capital by MSEK 102.2 to MSEK 694.0 through the redemption of 4,086,810 shares: 2,449,370 Series A shares and 1,637,440 Series B shares. The purpose of the reduction in share capital is to effect a repayment to Svenska Handelsbanken in its capacity as a shareholder in Custos, thereby achieving a final settlement of the synthetic buy-back program implemented under the provisions of a mandate from the Annual General Meeting in April 1999. The amount to be paid for each redeemed share amounts to the lowest quoted price paid on April 6, 2000 for a Series A and Series B share respectively, minus SEK 2. However, the redemption amount shall not exceed SEK 235.80 per share. After the redemption is completed, Custos' share capital will amount to MSEK 694.0, divided into 27,758,803 shares: 21,405,742 Series A shares and 6,353,061 Series B shares. Decision in principle regarding synthetic buy-backs of Custos' own shares The Annual General Meeting approved a proposal to give the Board of Directors a mandate to implement synthetic buy-backs of a maximum of 10,000,000 of Custos' own shares. Liquidation clause Furthermore, after consideration in compliance with the Articles of Association, the Annual General Meeting decided that Custos shall not be liquidated. Board of Directors Per-Olof Eriksson, Christer Gardell, Leif Gustafsson, Sven Hagströmer, Magnus Henrekson, Sten K Johnson and Mats Qviberg were re-elected and Jonas Wahlström was elected as a new member of the Board. At its subsequent statutory meeting, the Board re-elected Sven Hagströmer as its Chairman. Information schedule Interim Report, January 1 - March 31April 19, 2000 Interim Report, January 1 - June 30 July 19, 2000 Interim Report, January 1 - September 30 October 18, 2000 Stockholm, April 5, 2000 Board of Directors AKTIEBOLAGET CUSTOS This press release is published in Swedish and English. In the event of any difference between the English version and the Swedish original, the Swedish version shall govern. Questions will be answered by Christer Gardell (+46 8 440 57 70). AB Custos, P.O. Box 1738, SE-111 87 Stockholm, Sweden. Phone +46 8 440 57 70, fax +46 8 440 57 80, Web-address: www.custos.se ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/05/20000405BIT01120/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/05/20000405BIT01120/bit0002.pdf