SAS regrets inadequate disclosure of information in connection with SAS/Maersk Affair

SAS regrets inadequate disclosure of information in connection with SAS/Maersk Affair The Disciplinary Committee of the Stockholm Exchange has decided to impose a penalty of approximately SEK 985.000 SEK (corresponding to four times the annual fee of the Stockholm Exchange) on the previously listed company, SAS Sverige AB, for inadequate information in April 2001 in connection with the SAS/Maersk Affair. As from February 2001, it was public knowledge that the European Commission had initiated an investigation of SAS's illegal cooperation with Maersk. The Disciplinary Committee considers that SAS Sverige AB in april 2001 should had informed the market in sufficient time of the SAS Group's admission that competition legislation had been breached. The Disciplinary Committee is of the opinion that information about the admission should also have been included in the prospectus issued in May 2001 relating to the new parent company, SAS AB. SAS AB received no penalty for this omission, since SAS AB's listing contract was not signed until June 2001. At the relevant points in time, SAS was conducting close discussions with the European Commission regarding the SAS/Maersk Affair. It was impossible for SAS to evaluate the extent of the penalties and their potential significance. SAS therefore believed that the publication of the sole fact that SAS admitted the breach of the competition legislation as part of an ongoing legal process would probably have resulted in misleading speculation. At the time in question, there was, according to SAS, insufficient documentation to assess the size of the penalty. SAS's comment on the decision by the Disciplinary Committee to impose a penalty: "We deeply regret the inadequate information. It is our ambition to be an open company that informs the market about all important events. The SAS/Maersk Affair has been a heavy burden for SAS and, in this case, we made a misjudgment of the lengths to which a company must go in providing information about ongoing negotiations with the European Commission.We accept the decision by the Disciplinary Committee," says Jörgen Lindegaard, President and CEO of the SAS Group. For further information, please contact: Henry Sténson, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, SAS Group, Tel: +46 (0)8-797 14 55 or Mobile: +46 (0)709-97 14 55. 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/2003/08/01/20030801BIT00740/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/08/01/20030801BIT00740/wkr0002.pdf