Handelsbanken has received Finanstilsynet's approval to acquire Midtbank

Handelsbanken has received Finanstilsynet's approval to acquire Midtbank As announced in a press release on 11 April, Handelsbanken has made a cash bid of approximately SEK 2 500 million for all of the shares of Midtbank AS in Denmark. The offer is conditional, among other things, on approval by Finanstilsynet (the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority). Handelsbanken has now received Finanstilsynet's approval. For further information, please contact: Pär Boman, Executive Vice President and Head of Regional Bank Denmark tel: +45 33 41 8201 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/04/27/20010427BIT01290/bit0002.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/04/27/20010427BIT01290/bit0002.pdf