Wihlborgs holds 88.3 per cent of the shares in Fabege The offer is extended to 6 October 2004
Wihlborgs holds 88.3 per cent of the shares in Fabege The offer is extended to 6 October 2004 The offer is not open to individuals whose participation is dependent on further prospectuses, registration or any action beyond what is prescribed in Swedish law. This press release may not be distributed or published in countries where the offer or its distribution requires action under the preceding paragraph or conflicts with applicable rules in the country concerned. * At the expiry of the offering period on 15 September 2004 Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB ("Wihlborgs") owned 88.3 per cent of the shares and 88.1 per cent of the votes in Fabege AB ("Fabege") . Approximately 22,000 out of 27,000 registered shareholders had accepted the offer. To this must be added an unknown number of nominee-registered shareholders who had also accepted the offer. * As the offer is unconditional, Wihlborgs is now the parent company of Fabege. Wihlborgs will be including Fabege in its consolidated accounts from around 30 September 2004. * To date, Wihlborgs has acquired 30,619,354 class B shares and 191,850 class A shares under the offer, equivalent to 46.0 per cent of the shares and 46.2 per cent of the votes. To implement the acquisitions, Wihlborgs is issuing 24,406,648 new shares, convertible bonds with a total par value of SEK 582 million, which, upon exercise of all outstanding bonds, correspond to 5,515,289 shares, and make a cash payment of SEK 216.4 million. Prior to the conversion, the total number of shares in Wihlborgs is 85,175,556. In addition to the offer Wihlborgs has during the period after 19 July 2004 acquired 50,519 class A shares and 86,100 Class B shares in Fabege, corresponding to 0.2 per cent of the shares and 0.8 per cent of the voting rights. * In the pro forma financial statements the equity/assets ratio as of 30 June 2004, prior to exercise of all outstanding convertible bonds, is estimated at 26 per cent (27 per cent upon full exercise), based on the takeup of the Offer so far. * Shareholders who have already accepted the offer will receive cash payments starting on 24 September 2004. Shareholders who have chosen the share or convertible bond alternatives will receive shares or convertible bonds upon completion of the registration process, starting on 30 September 2004. * To enable the remaining shareholders to accept the offer, the offering period is being extended to 6 October 2004. Cash payments are expected to be made on 15 October in respect of the cash alternative and on 20 October in respect of the share and convertible bond alternatives. * On 8 September 2004 the Board of Directors of Fabege recommended that the company's shareholders accept Wihlborgs' share offer. In a press release issued on the same day the Swedish Shareholders' Association expressed the same opinion. * Wihlborgs may choose to acquire further shares in Fabege on the market. "I am very glad so many of Fabege's shareholders want to take part in the future development of the new, merged company", Erik Paulsson, Wihlborgs' CEO, says. "At the same time we would still like to give any shareholders who have not yet accepted the offer a little more time to consider it, and we have therefore decided to extend the offering period until 6 October 2004", Mr Paulsson adds. "I strongly believe that the merger creates a considerable potential for value. By strengthening our position on the rental market and cutting the cost level, it also offers good prospects for a continued strong performance". Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB (publ) For further information: Erik Paulsson, President and CEO, Tel.: +46 (0)8-555 148 18, +46 (0)733-87 18 18 Olle Knaust, deputy CEO and CFO, Tel.: +46 (0)8-555 148 10, +46 (0)733-87 18 10 Mats Berg, communications manager, Tel.: +46 (0)8-555 148 20, +46 (0)733-87 18 20 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/09/20/20040920BIT21900/wkr0001.pdf