The EU Commission approves Industri Kapital's acquisition of Dyno ASA

The EU Commission approves Industri Kapital's acquisition of Dyno ASA Following a four month in-depth investigation, the EU Commission today approved the acquisition of Dyno ASA by Nordkem AS, a company controlled by Industri Kapital. "Having received approvals from EU and Norwegian authorities, we now can focus on finalising the Offer and moving forward with the transaction", says Kim Wahl, Deputy Chief Executive of Industri Kapital. "Subject to the offer being finalised, our ambition will be to expand the explosives operations both organically and through acquisitions with the objective of securing Dyno's position as the world's leading commercial explosives manufacturer". In connection with the Offer, the explosives operations will be transferred to a new company to be set up by funds advised by Industri Kapital. The new company will be named Dyno Nobel ASA. Commenting on the EU Commission's clearance, Harald Mix, Deputy Chief Executive of Industri Kapital, says "With today's decision we have taken one step further towards the creation of a global leader in formaldehyde based resins, through the merger of the specialty chemicals activities of Dyno and Nordkemi Oy". As part of the EU approval, undertakings have been given to the Commission in respect of production capacity for formaldehyde, formaldehyde based resins and the production of plastic containers. These undertakings are in line with pre-acquisition expectations. The EU Commission's decision means that Nordkem AS will be able to proceed as planned with the acquisition of Dyno. Nordkem will now secure the finalisation of the offers of credit from the lending institutions. Nordkem will shortly announce the day of payment for the shares of Dyno, which date will be within 15 working days after the announcement, subject to the offers of credit from the lending institutions not being withdrawn. Not to be distributed in or into the United States. The next steps post closing will be to make a mandatory tender offer to the shareholders of Dyno who have not accepted the Offer, and thereafter to redeem the outstanding shares in Dyno. More detailed information will be announced once this process has been initiated. Background information Industri Kapital is a leading European private equity firm with equity capital under management in excess of 2 billion EUR. Since 1989, 36 investments have been made in European companies in various industries. The fund investors are large Nordic, European and American institutional investors such as pension funds, investment and insurance companies. Dyno ASA is a Norwegian-owned international industrial corporation with core businesses in the commercial explosives and specialty chemicals sectors. Dyno has approximately 7,000 employees at 100 wholly or partly owned subsidiaries worldwide. In 1999 Dyno reported a turnover of approximately NOK 10.7 billion. Nordkem AS, which was established in connection with the offer for Dyno ASA on the Oslo Stock Exchange in December 1999, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Finnish company Nordkemi Oy. Nordkemi Oy is owned to more than 70 percent by funds managed by Industri Kapital and senior executives of Nordkemi Oy the balance being directly owned by a group of investors which includes Orkla ASA, Stichting Pensioenfonds PGGM, Länsförsäkringar and other investors. For further information please contact: Harald Mix, Deputy CEO, Industri Kapital, +46 8 678 95 00 Kim Wahl, Deputy CEO, Industri Kapital, +47 901 146 50 Dag Mejdell, President & CEO, Dyno, +47 22 31 70 00 www.industrikapital.com "This press release is not an offer for sale of securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The securities may not be sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or in any other jurisdiction other than in compliance with the laws of that jurisdiction. There is no intention to register any portion of the offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of Securities in the United States." ------------------------------------------------------------ This informatin was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/07/12/20000712BIT00730/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/07/12/20000712BIT00730/bit0002.pdf