Swedish Match acquires additional 22% in WIMCO Ltd in India

Swedish Match acquires additional 22 percent in Wimco Ltd in India Swedish Match has today signed an agreement to acquire 22 percent of the shares in Wimco Ltd from the Jatia family. After the acquisition Swedish Match will own 74 percent of the equity in the company. rd The transaction is expected to close during the 3 quarter, 2000. Wimco is a public company, listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and other Indian stock exchanges. It is the leading manufacturer and distributor of matches in India and, with a production capacity of some 4,5 billion match boxes, is the largest local match manufacturing company in the world. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. Swedish Match is an international group with its head office in Stockholm. The company manufactures a broad range of products within the OTP (Other Tobacco Products) category, with smokeless tobacco as its core business along with cigars and pipe tobacco, as well as matches and lighters. The products are sold in approximately 140 countries. Sales for the twelve months period ending March 31, 2000 amounted to approximately 9,600 SEK. Swedish Match is listed on OM Stockholm Stock Exchange (SWMA) and on NASDAQ (SWMAY). For further information, please contact: Lennart Sundén, President and CEO +46 8 658 01 75 (office) Sven Hindrikes, Executive Vice President and CFO +46 8 658 02 82 (office) Bo Aulin, Senior Vice President, +46 8 658 03 64 (office) Secretary and General Counsel Emmett Harrison, Vice President, Investor Relations +46 8 658 01 73 (office) +46 709 38 01 73 (mobile) ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/07/31/20000731BIT00230/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/07/31/20000731BIT00230/bit0002.pdf