Programmera and the Giga Group to merge

Programmera and the Giga Group to merge Ratos's associated company Programmera and the IT consulting company the Giga Group have decided to merge. This will create a genuine systems integrator with qualified and sought after services within IT infrastructure, systems management and systems development. The new company will have 140 employees. "The merger between Giga and Programmera will form a consulting company of considerable force through its size and complementary range of services. This combination of services from IT infrastructure to systems management will generate greater market interest than each company on its own," says Anne Kruge, CEO of the new company. Ratos's stake in the new company will amount to 36%. This deal does not involve any net investment by Ratos. The new company will continue to offer its services to IT intensive industries with a focus on banking, financial services and insurance where security and accessibility are becoming increasingly significant for business operations and competitiveness. Programmera and the Giga Group have both been operating in the IT sector for more than ten years. The new company will offer an integrated range of business expertise, technical consulting, systems development, systems management and quality assurance. In 2000, Programmera's sales amounted to SEK 107m and profit before tax was SEK 6.5m. The Giga Group's consulting operations' 2000 sales amounted to SEK 47m with profit before tax of SEK 5.3m. For further information, please contact: Arne Karlsson, CEO of Ratos, +46 8 700 17 00 Anne Kruge, CEO of Giga Group, +46 8 703 25 00 Jonas Andersen, Information Manager at Programmera, +46 8 703 25 00 Financial Calendar 2001 Interim Report, Q2 24 August Interim Report, Q313 November Ratos is a listed private equity company. The business concept is to maximise shareholder value over time by investing in, developing and divesting primarily unlisted companies. Ratos thus offers stock market players a unique investment opportunity. The net asset value of Ratos's investments is approximately SEK 9 billion. Ratos's holdings include Arcorus, Atle Industri, Camfil, Capona, Dahl, DataVis, DIAB, Dynal Biotech, Esselte, Exceed, Gadelius KK, Haendig, Haglöfs, Hilding Anders, Hilton Group, HL Display, Industri Kapital, Intervect, Kronans Droghandel, Lindab, Martinsson Gruppen, Programmera, Q-Labs, Superfos, Telelogic and Telia Overseas. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/08/21/20010821BIT01100/bit0002.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/08/21/20010821BIT01100/bit0002.pdf