Ratos sells Exceed - exit gain approx. SEK 90m

Ratos sells Exceed - exit gain approx. SEK 90m Ratos has concluded an agreement to sell its wholly owned air and sea freight company Exceed to Wilson Logistics Group for approximately SEK 160m. Exceed has been in Ratos's portfolio since the beginning of the 1990s, when it was part of the forwarding group Inter Forward. In connection with the change of owner, Exceed is settling a debt to Ratos of SEK 10m, which means that the liquidity effect for Ratos is SEK 170m. "Today's deal represents an exit which benefits Ratos's shareholders. At the same time, this is an industrially correct deal for Exceed," says Ratos CEO Arne Karlsson commenting on the sale. Exceed's strategy has been to become a leading Nordic player within air and sea freight. "A strong Scandinavian player is now being formed in the global air and sea freight market," says Exceed's CEO Peter Larsen. "In this way we will achieve our goal which over time will benefit Scandinavian industry in its efforts to compete in the world market." Although both companies have strong market positions, particularly in Sweden, the joint analyses which preceded this deal have shown that the companies complement each other to a greater extent than they duplicate each other. This makes the deal logical from the point of view of both companies. "The merger with Exceed will give us important additional competence and customers within third party logistics, which we see as a key strategic component," says Wilson Logistics Group's CEO Henrik von Sydow, commenting on the deal. In 2001, Exceed's sales totalled SEK 1.3 billion (1.2) and the company posted an operating loss of SEK 19m (profit 21). Sales for the new merged group are expected to total SEK 7 billion and the group will have 2,300 employees in 27 countries worldwide. The sale of Exceed to Wilson Logistics Group is subject, among other things, to approval by the relevant competition authorities. For additional information, please contact Arne Karlsson, CEO Ratos, +46 8 700 17 00 Ratos's press room www.ratos.se contains downloadable portrait Financial calendar 2002: Three-month report 13 May Six-month report 26 August Nine-month report 13 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, Haendig, Haglöfs, Hilding Anders, HL Display, Industri Kapital, Intervect, Kronans Droghandel, Lindab, Martinsson, Q-Labs, Superfos, Telia Overseas and Yarrow. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/04/26/20020426BIT00270/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/04/26/20020426BIT00270/wkr0002.pdf