KONE sells Nordkalk to group of Finnish investors

Stock Exchange Release Published 04/12/2002

KONE sells Nordkalk to group of Finnish investors

Partek Corporation, which is part of KONE Corporation, and NK-Holding Oy Ab have on 3 December 2002 signed an agreement, by which Partek sells the entire share capital in its subsidiary Nordkalk Corporation to NK-Holding.

NK-Holding is a company formed by a group of Finnish investors. The group includes Ahlström Capital Oy (27.8% ownership in NK-Holding), funds under management or advisement of CapMan Plc (27.8%) and a group of institutional investors. An international bidding competition was conducted in the sale of Nordkalk.
In accordance with the agreement, the acquisition price for the company after reduction of minority interests is EUR 270 million. Nordkalk's EUR 100 million Going Public Bond and the company's interest-bearing net debt will be deducted from the acquisition price. The final acquisition price for the shares is estimated at EUR 140 million and will be determined by Nordkalk’s financial statements for the financial year 2002. The transaction is subject i.a. to competition authority approval.
The change of ownership does not affect Nordkalk's operations, customer relations or the position of the personnel.
The divestment of Nordkalk is in line with the disclosed strategy of KONE concerning Partek. One of objectives in this strategy is to divest the non-core holdings of Partek. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the beginning of 2003. When finalized the transaction will reduce KONE's interest-bearing net debt and liabilities of the capital loan by the amount of the acquisition price (EUR 270 million). KONE's balance sheet total will decrease by approximately EUR 300 million.
When the transaction is finalized, a right will arise for the holders of the Nordkalk 1999 Going Public Bond to request redemption of the bonds according to the terms of the loan.
Press conference
A press conference will be arranged by the acquirer on Wednesday, 4 December, at 11.00 a.m. at the Palace auditorium, Eteläranta 10, tenth floor, Helsinki, Finland.
Sender:
KONE Corporation
Tapio Hakakari
Secretary to the Board of Directors
Outi-Maria Liedes
Senior Vice President
Corporate Communications & IR
For further information, please contact:
Kari Heinistö, Senior Executive Vice President, KONE Materials Handling, tel. + 358 (0) 204 55 4252
Christer Sundström, President, Nordkalk, tel. + 358 (0) 204 55 6548
Outi-Maria Liedes, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & IR, KONE, tel. + 358 (0) 204 55 4292
Nordkalk is the leading producer of limestone-based products in Northern Europe. The products are used mainly in the steel, building material, pulp and paper industries as well as in environmental care and agriculture. In 2001, Nordkalk's consolidated net sales amounted to EUR 215.9 million and operating profit to EUR 24.1 million. The company’s January-September net sales rose to EUR 186.9 million and operating profit to EUR 26.1 million. Nordkalk employs about 1,300 people and has operations at over 30 locations e.g. in Finland, Sweden, Poland and Estonia.
KONE is a global service and engineering company that specializes in moving people and goods. The value of net sales totals EUR 5,600 million, and we employ approximately 35,000 people. KONE's B shares are listed on the Helsinki Exchanges.
www.nordkalk.com
www.kone.com

2002-12-04 KONE sells Nordkalk to group of Finnish investors

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