Kesko Oyj - Company Announcement

The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority has granted Kesko permission to acquire Suomen Lähikauppa

KESKO CORPORATION STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 11.04.2016 AT 14.00 1(2)

The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority has granted Kesko permission to
acquire Suomen Lähikauppa

The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) has approved the
acquisition in which Kesko Food Ltd, a Kesko Corporation subsidiary, acquires
Suomen Lähikauppa Oy. The permission contains conditions imposed by the Finnish
Competition and Consumer Authority. The completion of the acquisition is also
subject to the fulfilment of the other terms and conditions of the transaction.
As the acquisition is completed, the K-Group will increase its neighbourhood
market network in accordance with its strategy and the neighbourhood retail
services valued by Finnish consumers will improve significantly.

According to the decision of the FCCA, Kesko has been granted permission to
acquire Suomen Lähikauppa Oy. The condition imposed by the FCCA to the
acquisition is an obligation to sell 60 stores of Suomen Lähikauppa Oy to
competitors. In case the sale of some store or some stores is not possible, the
selling obligation imposed on Kesko Food Ltd will cease. The FCCA also imposed
an obligation that after the acquisition has been confirmed, Suomen Lähikauppa
Oy, which transfers to Kesko Food Ltd's ownership, shall continue purchases from
Tuko Logistics Osuuskunta during a fixed period in accordance with the
conditions set by the FCCA.

In line with its strategy, Kesko seeks growth in the grocery trade and one of
the focus areas for growth is to increase and renew the neighbourhood store
network. The acquisition will enable Finnish neighbourhood retailing to be
developed and it will open up significant new opportunities to serve Finnish
consumers. In 2015, Suomen Lähikauppa's net sales were €935.7 million, it has
around 600 Siwa and Valintatalo stores and around 3,800 employees.

The completion of the acquisition is yet subject to the fulfilment of the other
terms and conditions of the transaction. Kesko's objective is to complete the
acquisition as soon as possible. Kesko announced the acquisition in a stock
exchange release on 18 November 2015.

Further information:
Jorma Rauhala, Executive Vice President and Senior Vice President for the
grocery trade, tel. +358 105 322 211
Jukka Erlund, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, tel.
+358 105 322 113
Lauri Peltola, Senior Vice President, communications, corporate responsibility
and stakeholder relations, tel. +358 105 322 400

Kesko is a Finnish listed trading sector company. Kesko operates in the grocery
trade, the home improvement and speciality goods trade and the car trade. Its
divisions and chains act in close cooperation with retailer entrepreneurs and
other partners. In 2015, Kesko's net sales totalled €8.7 billion and it employed
nearly 20,000 people. Kesko has over 1,500 stores engaged in chain operations in
Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Belarus. Kesko's
shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. The company's domicile and main premises
are in Helsinki. Kesko is the most sustainable trading sector company in the
world (Food and Staples Retailing, The Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations
in the World). www.kesko.fi


Suomen Lähikauppa concentrates on neighbourhood services. We take care of the
needs of residents in the neighbourhood, we bring together services and provide
a good service experience - readily, conveniently and fast. Suomen Lähikauppa
has two nationwide store chains: Siwa and Valintatalo. The network of Siwa
stores is Finland's most comprehensive.





Kesko Corporation




Merja Haverinen
Vice President, Group Communications


DISTRIBUTION
Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
Main news media
www.kesko.fi


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