Industrivärden has sold its shares in AGA

Industrivärden, along with Handelsbanken's foundations and Gas Vision, has sold its shares in AGA * Industrivärden's capital gain: SEK 3 billion * Public offer to other shareholders * Net asset value increases to SEK 209 (SEK 197 at June 30, 1999) Industrivärden, Handelsbanken's foundations and Gas Vision have sold their shares in AGA to the listed German company Linde AG for SEK 141 per share. The price represents a premium of 19 percent compared with the average price dur- ing the past month, 25 percent during the past three months, and 31 percent during the past twelve months. Industrivärden sold its AGA shares for SEK 3.6 billion, with a capital gain of SEK 3.0 billion. Industrivärden's 25,753,500 shares represent 11.7 percent of the company's capital and 20.2 percent of its votes. The decision to sell the holding in AGA was based on considerations surrounding AGA's future opportuni- ties, among other things in light of the current restructuring in the gas in- dustry and the anticipated development of AGA's stock. In its analysis, In- dustrivärden has taken into account the industrial logic of the deal as well as the fact that the price amply corresponds to what can be justified based on varying valuation aspects, including deals recently carried out in the gas in- dustry. The AGA shares were included in Industrivärden's portfolio of core holdings. The sale is part of Industrivärden's strategy as an active shareholder to con- tinuously evaluate the portfolio companies' future development opportunities and the return on alternative investments. Linde will be making a public offer to AGA's other shareholders to sell their shares at the same price paid to Industrivärden. Linde and AGA are major players in the world's industrial gas market, with global market shares of 5 and 6 percent, respectively. Following the deal, Industrivärden's net asset value amounts to SEK 209 per share and CPN, compared with SEK 197 on June 30 (the composition of net asset value and the portfolio is shown in an appendix, p. 3). During the first half of the year Industrivärden's listed portfolio grew in value by 23 percent (General Index: 17 percent). This positive trend has con- tinued, and the portfolio's value has grown by 31 percent as of August 13, compared with 18 percent for the General Index. Industrivärden's total return during the first half of the year was 28 per- cent, compared with 19 percent for the Findata total return index. As of Au- gust 13 the total return was 29 percent (20 percent for the total return in- dex). Clas Reutersköld, President and CEO of Industrivärden: "Industrivärden has been an active owner in AGA for many years, and in that capacity it has been a prime mover in such matters as consolidating AGA's ope- rations and overhauling its capital structure. The current restructuring of the gas industry has given Industrivärden the opportunity to exit from its in- vestment in AGA and realize a capital gain of SEK 3 billion, at the same time that the deal makes industrially sense." Stockholm, Sweden, August 16, 1999 AB INDUSTRIVÄRDEN (publ.) For further information, please contact: Clas Reutersköld, President and CEO, Industrivärden, tel. +46-8-666 64 00 PRESS CONFERENCE Industrivärden will be informing the media and other market participants con- cerning the sale of its AGA shares. A press conference will be held today at 11:00 a.m. at Industrivärden's head offices, Storgatan 10, in Stockholm. HALF-YEAR INTERIM REPORT Industrivärden will be releasing its half-year interim report for the period ended June 30, 1999, on Wednesday, August 18. Appendix: Portfolio of listed stocks as per August 13, 1999 Market value Number SEKShare (%) (000s) SEK M per of port- sha-folio va- re lue and CPN Erics- 46,520 12,979 68 32 son Sandvik 23,000 5,325 28 13 SCA 18,375 4,869 25 12 Handelsban- 43,950 4,505 24 11 ken 1 AGA 25,754 3,631 19 9 Skan- 18,200 3,021 16 8 dia Skans- 8,076 2,540 13 6 ka SSAB 12,046 1,415 7 4 Other 2,016 11 5 Total 40,301 211 100 Composition of net asset value as per August 13, 1999 SEK SEK per billionshare and CPN Listed 40.3 211 1 stocks Industrial and trading 3.8 19 operations 44.1 230 Other assets and liabili- -4.1 -21 ties 40.0 209 Total number of shares and CPNs 191,206,984 1 The AGA shares are valued at the sales price of SEK 141 per share. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/08/16/19990816BIT00020/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/08/16/19990816BIT00020/bit0002.pdf