After Haendig and Penope sold their joint Hitachi agency to Hitachi 2004, the potential synergies between the companies' operations decreased significantly. The sale of Penope's wood processing operations, which will be carried out as a net asset purchase in January 2007, is therefore a natural step. The deal will generate a small capital loss for Haendig but will release capital amounting to SEK 20m. In conjunction with this deal, Penope's management will receive an option to acquire the business property in Lahti at an established market value of approximately SEK 25m. In 2005, the wood processing operations' sales amounted to SEK 100m, which corresponded to two-thirds of Penope's total sales in 2005.

Haendig's CEO Thomas Holmgren comments: "Haendig's business mission is based on serving the building materials trade with strong brands for both professional and DIY customers. In this perspective, Penope's wood processing operations are outside the core business. So it feels like a natural solution to transfer these operations to the company's management who are well familiar with both the organisation and the customer base."

Haendig is an active owner of small and medium-sized building materials wholesalers with a focus on the DIY market and the professional sector in the Nordic region. The Group includes the subsidiaries HDF-Bolagen, Hafa, Westerbergs Badrum, Duri, Lundbergs Produkter, HDF Gyttorp Jakt and Sven Svenssons. Haendig had sales of approximately SEK 1,290m in 2005 and posted a pre-tax profit of SEK 32m.

For further information, please contact:

Thomas Holmgren, CEO Haendig, +46 705 736 700

Stig Karlsson, Senior Investment Manager Ratos, +46 70 641 13 45

Anna-Karin Celsing, Head of Corporate Communications Ratos, +46 70 399 62 39

Financial calendar from Ratos:

Interim report January-June 2006 24 August 2006

Interim report January-September 2006    10 November 2006