Investor AB, Softbank, Carnegie

Press conference - Press invitation Following this press release a press conference will be held today, June nd 27, at Grand Hotel, Bolinderska Palatset, 2 floor. Sandwiches will be served at 11.30 and the press conference will start at 12.00 a.m. sharp. Investor AB, Softbank and Carnegie to invest in venture capital company Startupfactory Investor AB is, in conjunction with its wholly owned subsidiary Investor Growth Capital, to become an active partner in the venture capital company Startupfactory. Together with Softbank and Carnegie, the company is investing up to SEK 500 millions in Startupfactory. This creates a unique growth environment for Nordic wireless entrepreneurs who want to go global. "It is very interesting for us to become partners in Startupfactory since they have established themselves as a leading Nordic venture capital company focusing on wireless communication. For Investor, the partnership strengthens our investments in wireless communication development at the early stages," says Börje Ekholm, Managing Director and Head of New Investments, Investor AB. "This is the "Dream Team" of wireless investing. Startupfactory has the finest team around, Investor is the leading investor in the Nordic countries, and Softbank is the world leader in building global Internet companies, " says Eric Hippeau, President and Executive Managing Director of Softbank International. "We want to help entrepreneurs go global - as we did with Yahoo! and E*TRADE." Startupfactory is the first investment by Softbank Europe Ventures, the fund Softbank announced this past March to invest in entrepreneurial Internet companies in continental Europe. "Bringing Investor AB, Softbank and Carnegie in as partners makes us the best company to help start-ups go global," says Rolf Skoglund, Chairman of the Board of Startupfactory. "These successful international investors will open up tremendous opportunities for our entrepreneurs." Carnegie is a leading investment banking and asset management firm with a special focus on the Nordic region. "Startupfactorys expertise in areas at the leading edge of technology together with our deep investment competence will create a very powerful investment team," says Mats-Olof Ljungkvist, Chief Financial Officer, Carnegie Holding AB. Startupfactory Startupfactory is one of the first early stage, value-added investors focused on wireless communication and mobile lifestyle. The business concept is to help entrepreneurs transform high-calibre business ideas within mobile Internet into full-fledged companies, by assisting in business development, recruiting and financing. The Company's vision is to be the obvious partner for entrepreneurs aiming for global leadership in the wireless communication and mobile lifestyle sector. Startupfactory was founded in August 1999 by a group of experienced technology executives including Sven-Christer Nilsson, former CEO of Ericsson; Rolf Skoglund, former VP of Microsoft Corporation; Hjalmar Winbladh, founder of SendIt and currently GM of Microsoft Mobile Internet; Lars-Olof Bäckman, Chairman of several listed companies including Trio Inc, Linné Group and Infocast; and Staffan Helgesson, formerly with McKinsey. For more information, please contact: Staffan Helgesson, +46-8-545 532 00, staffan.helgesson@startupfactory.com Sophie Rietz, +46-8-545 532 00, sophie.rietz@startupfactory.com Investor AB Investor AB is a long-term active global shareholder in a number of public multinational companies such as Ericsson, AstraZeneca and ABB. In addition, Investor has extensive global private equity operations with over USD 3 billion in assets under management and offices in Stockholm, New York, Palo Alto, Hong Kong and Amsterdam. The total net asset value of Investor is approximately USD 20 billion. Investor continues the Wallenberg family´s century long history of investing in growth companies and working with management teams to build business. Investor brings together the tradition of well-established companies and opportunities presented by innovative start-ups, bridging the old and the new economy. Investor Growth Capital is a wholly owned subsidiary of Investor, focusing on private equity and venture capital investments in the IT and healthcare sector in North America and Europe. For more information, please contact: Klas Hillström, Investor Growth Capital, +46 8 463 38 41, klas.hillstrom@investorab.com Nils Ingvar Lundin, Managing Director Corporate Relations, Investor AB, +46 70 514 20 49, ludde@investorab.com Softbank SOFTBANK Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 9984) is one of the world's Internet leaders. Through its ownership positions in more than 300 Internet companies and its unique, global approach to building Internet enterprises, it is able to realize unprecedented synergies among its group of companies. In the U.S., SOFTBANK is the largest shareholder in leading Internet companies including Yahoo!, E*TRADE, and ZDNet. In Japan, SOFTBANK's activities encompass online financial services, e-commerce, online media and marketing services, e-business solutions, and joint ventures with industry leaders including Microsoft, Cisco, Yahoo!, and the National Association of Security Dealers (NASD). SOFTBANK has established Internet joint ventures with Vivendi in Europe and with News Corp. in the U.K., India, Australia, and New Zealand. SOFTBANK is building Internet ventures in Greater China, Latin America, and Korea; and has joined with the World Bank to help bridge the digital divide in emerging markets worldwide. SOFTBANK Europe Ventures is a USD 550 million fund targeting local entrepreneurial Internet ventures in continental Europe. For more information, please contact: Neil Katkov, +1 617-558-6708, neil_katkov@softbank.com Carnegie Carnegie is a leading investment banking and asset management firm with a special focus on the Nordic region. The firm holds strong positions in equity broking in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, both locally and cross-border through offices in London and New York. Carnegie is also a leading corporate finance advisor in the Nordic countries. Our financial services include asset management and private banking for institutions and private investors. Presently, we have approximately SEK 80 billion under management. The technology sector is a strong commitment that fits in to Carnegie's strategic philosophy. The technology sector is a strong commitment that fits in to Carnegie's strategic philosophy. For more information, please contact: Mats-Olof Ljungkvist:, +46 8 58 86 90 13, matlju@carnegie.se Staffan Knafve, +46 8 58 86 91 20, stkn@carnegie.se ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/06/27/20000627BIT00020/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/06/27/20000627BIT00020/bit0002.pdf