Veidekke ASA : Veidekke acquiring Hammerfest Entreprenør AS

Veidekke Entreprenør is buying 81 per cent of the shares in Hammerfest Entreprenør AS in Finnmark. Hammerfest Entreprenør has 27 employees and an annual turnover of approx. NOK 80 million. "This acquisition will strengthen our position in the far north," says Nils Hæstad, Veidekke's Regional Manager.
Hammerfest Entreprenør has 27 employees: 5 administrative staff and 22 craftsmen. The company carries out building and construction jobs in and around Hammerfest, and has achieved solid economical results. The company's main market is commercial buildings, public service buildings and small construction jobs. The company was founded in 2004 by Managing Director Rolf Johnny Nilsen in collaboration with a number of local business partners.

"With its strong local position, Hammerfest Entreprenør is a solid strategic partner in a growing market. Veidekke's highly mobile capacity and expertise in project development and management, combined with Hammerfest Entreprenør's good local relations, will make us a powerful provider of construction projects linked to the land-based activities in the oil industry and infrastructure projects in the area, in addition to the local building and construction market," says Veidekke's Regional Manager Nils Hæstad.

"As the owners of Hammerfest Entreprenør, we wanted to join forces with a new partner and co-owner that could help us further develop the company. The merger with Veidekke Entreprenør will strengthen the company's prospects for  development, not least because we will have access to Veidekke's resources and expertise in project management and project development," says Rolf Johnny Nilsen, who will continue as Managing Director and a shareholder in Hammerfest Entreprenør.

Takeover will occur as soon as the Norwegian Competition Authority has approved the merger.

For more information please contact:
Nils Hæstad, Regional Manager at Veidekke, tel. +47 21 05 75 94 / +47 97 68 97 91, nils.hestad@veidekke.no
Terje R. Venold, CEO of Veidekke, tel. +47 21 05 77 01 / +47 905 82 323, terje.venold@veidekke.no
Rolf Johnny Nilsen, Managing Director of Hammerfest Entreprenør, tel. +47 99 53 73 13 / +47 78 42 91 33, rjn@haen.no

Veidekke is one of Scandinavia's largest contractors with 6,100 employees and a turnover of NOK 18 billion (2011). Activities include building and construction projects, residential developments, asphalt plants, gravel and aggregates, and road maintenance. Our values are professional, honest, enthusiastic and pioneering. Our goals for health, safety and the environment, HSE, have equal status with our financial goals. Veidekke is characterized by a decentralized organizational model with a strong corporate culture and a high degree of employee involvement. Over half the employees are co-owners, holding slightly more than 20% of Veidekke's shares between them. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and has never declared a loss since it was founded in 1936.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.