Nobel Biocare takes full control of Procera-Sandvik - strengthens its position as world leader of innovative dental sol

Nobel Biocare takes full control of Procera-Sandvik - strengthens its position as world leader of innovative dental solutions Nobel Biocare is the world leader in dental implants. In an agreement with Sandvik AB, Nobel Biocare has acquired Sandvik's 50% share of the dental technology company Procera-Sandvik AB. Nobel Biocare is thereby strengthening its market position by getting full control of the development and production of individualized ceramic prosthetics for both conventional and implant dentistry. "By taking full control of the Procera business we can utilize our world- wide and well-established sales and distribution power in a much more cost effective way and thereby speed up the penetration of our product offering of both dental implants and prosthetics to the dentist", says Heliane Canepa, President of Nobel Biocare AB. "The acquisition is important to secure our strategy of a future successful development and penetration of the whole dental market." All critical knowledge for development and industrial production of individualized prosthetics in ceramics will be transferred to Nobel Biocare. By a total integration in Nobel Biocare, Procera will now benefit from having access to the whole Nobel Biocare organization and expertise. Procera-Sandvik AB has around 50 employees in Stockholm, Sweden and New Jersey, USA. Sandvik AB and Nobel Biocare AB established the joint venture company Procera-Sandvik AB 1992 for the development and production of dental copings in ceramic materials. The cooperation has been instrumental for the development of the Procera AllCeram coping, the first dental coping on the market, which is produced in an industrial CAD-CAM production process. Göteborg, January 3, 2002 For further information, please contact: Gunilla Ekholtz, Investor Relations, telephone +46 31 81 88 36 or mobile +46 708 81 88 36. Nobel Biocare is an innovative, medical devices company, whose core business comprises dental implants and dental prosthetics. The company's product systems for dental implants, Brånemark System® and Steri-Oss® /Replace, are world leaders and have a global market share of around 40%. The company's other product line, Procera®, is a unique, IT-based process for the industrial production of dental prosthetics. The system has been launched very successfully in more than 30 countries in North America, Europe, South East Asia and South America. Nobel Biocare has around 1,200 employees and, in 2000 turnover totaled SEK 2 110 million. The company's headquarters are located in Gothenburg, Sweden, while production takes place in Sweden and the USA. Nobel Biocare has its own sales companies in 25 countries. www.nobelbiocare.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/01/03/20020103BIT00470/bit0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/01/03/20020103BIT00470/bit0001.pdf