Metro today to be launched in Toronto Metro appoints global distribution manager

METRO TODAY TO BE LAUNCHED IN TORONTO METRO APPOINTS GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Metro International S.A. ("Metro"), the international newspaper group, today announced that the new title, 'Metro Today', will be launched in Toronto on 9 July 2001. The launch follows the previously announced joint venture between Torstar Corporation and Metro International. 190,000 copies of the new newspaper will be printed and distributed on Monday, immediately making Metro Today the second largest daily newspaper in the Greater Toronto area. Metro's partnership with Torstar Corporation reflects the requirement under Canadian law for international publishers to have local partners. The new title will replace the existing 'Metro' and 'Today' newspapers, which are distributed free of charge in the City of Toronto by Metro and Torstar respectively. ´Metro Today´ will maintain the same style and format, as well as the same number of employees as all other Metro editions. The newspaper will continue to be distributed from racks within Toronto's subway system and commuter train network, as well as in other commuter zones in the City. Toronto is the largest city in Canada, with a population of 4.3 million and annual advertising sales of approximately US$1,325 million. The print publication advertising market in Toronto is reported to be worth approximately US$600 million. Metro also announced today that it has appointed John Wu as Global Distribution Manager. John Wu has 13 years' experience of managing logistics for UPS, PepsiCo Food systems and Nabisco, Inc., and has already been voted one of the top 20 Logistics Professionals in 2001 by his peers and industry experts in the US. Mr Wu will be based in New York and be responsible for coordinating and enhancing the distribution of Metro's nineteen editions around the world, as well as developing new distribution channels for the newspaper. Pelle Törnberg, President & CEO of Metro International, commented: "We are delighted to have now received confirmation of our joint venture in Canada. Our partnership with Torstar combines the strengths of both organisations and, together with our operation in Montreal, gives us a strong position in the Canadian media market." "We have learnt a number of lessons from the distribution of newspapers in 14 countries around the world, and John Wu will bring his expertise to bear on the refining of our distribution model in all our markets. Our global presence gives us considerable leverage and experience, and John will be instrumental in capitalising on this." Metro International S.A. 'A' and 'B' shares are listed on the NASDAQ National Market and on the Stockholmsbörsen O-List under the symbols MTROA and MTROB. For further information, please visit www.metro.lu, email info@sharedvalue.net or contact: Pelle Törnberg, President & CEO tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 0230 Investor & media enquiries tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 5010 Metro International S.A. publishes and distributes 19 editions of its free daily newspaper in 14 countries: Stockholm (Metro), Prague (Metro), Gothenburg (Metro), Hungary (Metro), the Netherlands (Metro), Helsinki (Metro), Malmö (Metro), Santiago (publiMETRO), Philadelphia (Metro), Zurich (Metropol), Toronto (Metro), Rome (Metro), Buenos Aires (publiMETRO), Milan (Metro), Warsaw (Metropol), Athens (Metrorama), Montreal (Metro), Barcelona (Metro Directo) & Boston (Metro). ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/07/05/20010705BIT00040/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/07/05/20010705BIT00040/bit0001.pdf