Statement by the Board of Directors of AssiDomän AB
Statement by the Board of Directors of AssiDomän AB Today, the Swedish government, via the wholly-owned company Sveaskog AB, has announced an offer ("the Offer") to acquire all shares in AssiDomän AB. The Offer implies that the distribution of the Billerud shares, as decided on AssiDomän's AGM earlier this year, is completed.Taken as a whole, the value of the share distribution in Billerud and the Offer is assessed as being equivalent to SEK 280 per share in AssiDomän. The earlier announced share redemption programme of MSEK 12,000 will not be carried through if the Offer is realized. The distributed Billerud shares comprise AssiDomän's existing 50% and the 20% for which StoraEnso has an option to sell to AssiDomän prior to a listing. The value of this distribution, according to Lex-Asea, is assessed by Sveaskog as being equivalent to SEK 23 per share in AssiDomän1. The Offer consists, in part, of SEK 244 in cash and, in part, of the Swedish government's shareholding in Billerud, as estimated by Sveaskog, equivalent to SEK 13 per share in AssiDomän1. Nordea Securities and Carnegie, which at the request of the board have evaluated the Offer to AssiDomän's shareholders, have stated in their respective fairness opinions to the board that the Offer is reasonable from a financial perspective. In addition to the statements from the financial advisers, the board has based its assessment on the value of the Offer, taking into account AssiDomän's share price prior to the announcement of the ongoing discussions between Sveaskog and AssiDomän regarding a possible offer. The board also has considered the shareholder value which AssiDomän is expected to create in the foreseeable future as an independent listed company. The overall assessment of the above-mentioned factors has led the board to consider the Offer to be reasonable. Thus the board has unanimously decided to recommend AssiDomän's shareholders to accept the Offer. Adviser to the AssiDomän Board of Directors on this transaction and also on the strategic restructuring of the group has been Carnegie. AssiDomän AB Board of Directors 10 October 2001 1 The value of Billerud is here taken to correspond to an estimated book value of shareholders' equity as a listed company multiplied by 1.1. For further information contact Bernt Magnusson, Chairman of the AssiDomän Board, tel: +46 8 655 90 00 after 3 p.m. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/10/10/20011010BIT00470/bit0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/10/10/20011010BIT00470/bit0002.pdf