SKF acquires service company in gas and oil business

SKF has signed an agreement to acquire the remaining 50% of the Norwegian company RC DEI Norge AS from the AGR Group.

The acquisition is subject to the approval of the Norwegian Competition Authority. SKF had previously 50% of the company through its subsidiary DEI, Aberdeen, Scotland, that SKF aquired in 1999. RC DEI has a turnover of approximately 12 MNOK and is located outside Stavanger, Norway. The RC DEI business mainly consists of services for condition based maintenance principally servicing the oil and gas industry on the continental shelf of the North Sea. “This acquisition is a further step in strengthening SKF’s position in the oil and gas industry,” said Phil Knights, President of the Service Division. “This field service organization along with its former parent company DEI and the rest of SKF reliability systems resources can provide the full array of reliability services to the North Sea oil industry. This field service operation will also support our role in the collaboration with Statoil. The oil and gas industry is also a key market for SKF portable monitoring equipment. Today SKF is a global leader in developing and supplying intrinsically safe instrumentation for the oil and gas industry.'' SKF is the leading global supplier of products, solutions and services in the area comprising rolling bearings, seals, mechatronics, services and lubrication systems. The Group's service offer also includes technical support, maintenance services, condition monitoring and training. SKF is headquartered in Göteborg, Sweden, and has some 100 manufacturing sites and a network with 15 000 distributor locations all over the world. Gothenburg April 24, 2006 Aktiebolaget SKF (publ.) For further information, please contact: PRESS: Lars G Malmer, SKF Group Communication, tel. +46 (0)31 337 1541, e-mail: Lars.G.Malmer@skf.com IR: Marita Björk, SKF Investor Relations, tel:+46 (0)31 3371994, e-mail: marita.bjork@skf.com