Kährs and Karelia-Upofloor merger approved by relevant competition authorities

Press release, December 4, 2012

Kährs and Karelia-Upofloor have received competition authorities´ approval to merge. Kährs and Karelia-Upofloor announced on October 22 their intention to merge and create Europe’s leading wood floor producer. Under the agreement, the merger was conditional upon approvals by relevant competition authorities. This condition has hereby been fulfilled which means that the merger will be completed as of Dec 3.

For further information:

Christer Persson, President & CEO, +46 (0)70 364 60 30

About Kährs

Kährs, established in 1857, is one of Europe’s oldest and leading wood floor manufacturers with a brand that is recognized globally. The main part of the production is multi layer parquet, one of the company’s innovations that has become an industry standard. The main market is Europe, however the company is active on more than 50 markets around the world and has own sales companies in 10 countries. Kährs has two production facilities in Sweden, net sales in 2011 was EUR 160 million, and the group employs 850 persons. www.kahrs.com

About Karelia-Upofloor

Karelia-Upofloor Oy is one of Europe’s leading flooring producers and an internationally recognised expert in its field. The main products are hardwood and resilient floorings. The group’s market areas are Finland and the Baltic Countries, Russia and CIS countries, Scandinavia, and International Projects. The group has four production facilities in Finland, as well as factories in Russia and Romania. Net sales in 2011 were EUR 122 million, and the group employs 800 persons. www.kareliaupofloor.com