SAS Group acquires 49 percent of Estonian Air

SAS Group acquires 49 percent of Estonian Air SAS AB has signed an agreement with Danish Maersk Air A/S to acquire 49 percent of the shares in the Estonian airline Estonian Air. The other shareholders of Estonian Air are the Estonian Government with 34 percent and the Estonian investment banking firm AS Cresco with 17percent. SAS AB has also signed an agreement with Cresco covering a possible increase of SAS shareholding in Estonian Air. In addition to Estonian Air, SAS AB acquires 100 percent of the shares of Maersk Air Maintenance Estonia AS, a company based in Tallinn providing technical maintenance for aircraft. The total purchase price is MSEK 180. Strong position in the Baltic States The acquisition is part of the SAS Group's strategy to strengthen its position in the Baltic region. Scandinavian Airlines inaugurated traffic between Stockholm and Tallinn already in 1989 and at the time was the first Western European airline that opened scheduled flight connections to Estonia. Since then, expansion in the Baltic States and Finland has played a central role in the SAS Group's positioning in the area. This includes the SAS Group's involvement in airBaltic, Latvia, and the wholly owned Finnish company Air Botnia. Estonian Air has a strong base in its routes to Copenhagen and Stockholm and has favorable prospects for future expansion. "Estonian Air is a profitable, strong and growing company in a strategically highly attractive region. Traffic to and from Estonia is expected to increase by at least 8-10 percent annually," says Gunnar Reitan, Executive Vice President, Subsidiary & Affiliated Airlines. The acquisition is expected to have a neutral effect on the SAS Group's earnings during 2003 and a positive effect in 2004. In addition, synergy effects are estimated to arise in 2004 amounting to about MSEK 35. Estonian Air has a positive net debt (net cash) and the EDITDAR/capitalized leasing expenses plus net debt amounts to about 0.22 (0.13 for the SAS Group). The Group's capitalized leasing expenses will not be affected by the acquisition. Net debt for the Group increases by MSEK 180, corresponding to 0.8 percent of the Group's total net debt. Favorable development in Estonian Air Estonian Air was formed in 1991 and privatized in 1996. At that time, Maersk Air acquired 49 percent of the shares. In conjunction with the privatization, the company was restructured and Boeing 737-500s and Fokker 50s were leased. Estonian Air serves routes between Tallinn and Copenhagen, Stockholm, Moscow, Kiev, Vilnius, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin, Oslo, Paris and London. Most traffic is to Stockholm and Copenhagen. Estonian Air has 311 employees and during the past two years has reported net profit of MEEK 14 in 2001 and MEEK 39 in 2002. Estonian Air will continue to operate as an independent airline under its own brand. For further information, contact: Gunnar Reitan, EVP, Subsidiary & Affiliated Airlines, tel +46 8 797 28 44, +46 709 97 28 44 Hans Ollongren, SVP, Corporate Communications, tel +46 8 797 19 50, +46 709 97 19 50 Investor Relations: Sture Stølen, Head of SAS Group Investor Relations, +46 709 97 14 51 SAS CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/09/11/20030911BIT00660/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/09/11/20030911BIT00660/wkr0002.pdf