After the sale, the company will be wholly owned by the Washington Mills Company Inc.

 

"Orkla Exolon's operations are outside Orkla's strategic priority areas. A company recently acquired by Washington Mills has held shares in Exolon since its establishment in 1962 and we believe that Washington Mills is in a better position than we are to further develop the company," says Pål Tandberg, Chairman of the Board of Directors.

 

The agreement has now been signed, but since it will take time to complete the formalities and the exclusion from the sale of a number of Orkla shares currently owned by Orkla Exolon (see separate Notice to the Stock Exchange), the transaction will not be completed until August.

 

Washington Mills was established in 1868 and has production plants in the USA, Canada and the UK. Two years ago, it took over another company that held shares in Orkla Exolon. Washington Mills has indicated that it intends to continue to run Orkla Exolon on the basis of the strategic plan that has been laid, i.e. further specialisation in the field of microproducts for sectors such as the solar panel and semi-conductor industries. Orkla Exolon has 100 employees.