Industrivärden Assigned 'A+/A-1' Corporate Credit

STOCKHOLM (Standard & Poor's CreditWire) May 17, 2000-- Standard & Poor's today assigned its single-'A'-plus long-term and 'A-1' short-term corporate credit ratings to AB Industrivärden. The outlook is stable. Industrivärden is a publicly owned holding company with listed stocks and shares in wholly owned subsidiaries. The ratings on Industrivärden reflect the company's high financial flexibility and strong capital structure. At the end of March 2000, Industrivärden would have been able to cover its total debt 12 times by liquidating its listed holdings. As of March 31, 2000, Industrivärden's investment portfolio, more than 90% of which consists of listed shares, had a market value of Swedish krona (SKr) 71 billion (US$8 billion). The securities enjoy good liquidity, since they are among the most heavily traded shares on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Although Industrivärden might regard most of the holdings as strategic, they can nevertheless be completely or partially liquidated if needed, therefore providing the company with excellent financial flexibility despite its weak cash flow. In addition to its core holdings, the portfolio consists of listed, medium-term holdings that could also be liquidated if necessary. At the end of March 2000, Industrivärden's portfolio of core holdings included shares of six companies, the three largest of which represent about 70% of the company's total assets. Despite the portfolio consisting of shares listed only on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, these highly international companies have only minimal exposure to the vagaries of the domestic economy and are in diversified industries. In addition to its stock portfolio, Industrivärden owns a few wholly owned operating subsidiaries in the light engineering and trading sectors that had a turnover of SKr4.1 billion and yielded a net profit of SKr380 million in 1999. OUTLOOK: STABLE The outlook reflects the expectation that Industrivärden will retain high financial flexibility and strong capital structure. Total debt to capital is not expected to exceed 15%-20% of the portfolio's market value, Standard & Poor's said. -- CreditWire Credit Profile: ISSUER CREDIT RATING AB Industrivärden New: Corp credit rtg A+/Stable/A-1 Peter Nilsson, Stockholm (46) 8-440-5913 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/05/17/20000517BIT00540/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/05/17/20000517BIT00540/bit0002.pdf