OUTOKUMPU TO PROCEED WITH REDUCING ITS OWNERSHIP IN BOLIDEN - UP TO 37 MILLION SHARES OFFERED
OUTOKUMPU OYJ STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE November 30, 2004 at 7.00 pm
OUTOKUMPU TO PROCEED WITH REDUCING ITS OWNERSHIP IN BOLIDEN - UP TO 37 MILLION SHARES OFFERED The Board of Directors of Boliden AB (publ) has decided, based on the authorization granted by Bolidens extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, to launch a directed issue to institutional investors (the "Boliden Offering"). Concurrently, Outokumpu has decided to proceed with reducing its ownership in Boliden as announced earlier this month (the "Outokumpu Offering" and, together with the Boliden Offering, the "Combined Offering"). Outokumpu is offering to sell up to 37 000 000 shares in Boliden, including 10 000 000 shares in the form of an over-allotment option granted to the managers of the Combined Offering. Outokumpu also reserves the right to increase the size of the Outokumpu Offering by an additional 10 000 000 shares. The Outokumpu Offering will be conducted through a public offering in Sweden, with existing Boliden shareholders given a priority in the allocation process, and a private placement to Swedish and international institutional investors. The sale will be carried out in coordination with the Boliden Offering under the same terms and conditions, with the sale price being established through a book- building process that starts on December 6 and ends on December 15, 2004. The final price and the amount of Boliden shares to be sold by Outokumpu depend on the outcome of the book-building process, and are expected to be announced on or about December 16, 2004. However, in the public offering in Sweden the sale price per each Boliden share will not exceed SEK 30.00. The 37 million shares Outokumpu is offering to sell correspond to 12.8% of Boliden shares and share capital after giving effect to the Boliden Offering. Following the Combined Offering, Outokumpus shareholding in Boliden will amount to some 30% (assuming exercise of the over-allotment option), or 26% if both the over-allotment option and the right to increase the size of the Outokumpu Offering are exercised in full. For further information, please contact: Esa Lager, Executive Vice President - Finance and Administration, tel. +358 9 421 2516, esa.lager@outokumpu.com Eero Mustala, Senior Vice President - Corporate Communications, tel. +358 9 421 2435, mobile +358 40 504 5146, eero.mustala@outokumpu.com OUTOKUMPU OYJ Corporate Management Johanna Sintonen Vice President - Investor Relations tel. +358 9 421 2438, mobile +358 40 530 0778, fax +358 9 421 2125 e-mail: johanna.sintonen@outokumpu.com Not for release, publication or distribution in Australia, Canada, France, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, Japan, South Africa, Spain or the United States of America. The information contained herein is not for publication or distribution in or into the United States. This document does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States or to or for the account or benefit of U.S. persons, nor may the securities be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration as provided in the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, and the rules and regulations thereunder. There is no intention to register any portion of the offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States. The information contained herein shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities referred to herein in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption of registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.