2007-07-25 16:30:00 CEST

2007-07-25 16:30:00 CEST


REGULATED INFORMATION

Finnish English
Sampo - Major shareholder announcements

Disclosure under chapter 2 section 9 of the securities market act


SAMPO PLC                            STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 25.7.2007 at 17.30  


DISCLOSURE UNDER CHAPTER 2 SECTION 9 OF THE SECURITIES MARKET ACT               

Sampo plc (business code 01422113-3) has today received the following disclosure
in accordance with Chapter 2 Section 9 of the Securities Market Act regarding   
Sampo plc's shares, according to which the holding of Exista hf. (610601-2350)  
and its subsidiaries has today exceeded 15 per cent of Sampo plc's shares and   
voting rights. The holding amounts to 90,121,408 A shares corresponding to 15.58
per cent of Sampo plc's total shares and 15.45 per cent of total voting rights. 
                                                                                
In addition, Exista Trading ehf. has entered into agreements which entitle      
Exista Trading ehf., if it so desires, to acquire in total 25,175,459 A shares  
in Sampo plc., or, alternatively and upon choice by Exista Trading ehf. with    
regard to some of the transactions, to receive a cash payment representing the  
increase in value of the Sampo plc shares. The maximum number of the shares     
which Exista Trading ehf. may acquire through these transactions represent at   
present 4.35% of Sampo plc's total shares and 4.32% of the total voting rights  
carried by the shares in Sampo plc.                                             


SAMPO PLC                                                                       

Jarmo Salonen                                                                   
Head of Investor Relations and Group Communication                              
tel. +358 10 516 0030                                                           


Distribution:                                                                   
Helsinki Stock Exchange                                                         
The principal media                                                             
Financial Supervision                                                           
www.sampo.com                                                                   



ATTACHMENT: DISCLOSURE                                                          


Finnish Financial Supervision Authority                                         
Snellmaninkatu 6                                                                
P.O. Box 159                                                                    
FI-00101 Helsinki                                                               
Finland                                                                         
Fax: + 358 10 831 5230                                                          

Sampo Plc.                                                                      
Fabianinkatu 27                                                                 
FI-00100 Helsinki                                                               
Finland                                                                         
Fax: + 358 10 516 0016                                                          


25 July 2007                                                                    


A flagging notification referred to in chapter 2, section 9, of the securities  
markets Act on a change in holdings                                             

As a result of consummation of the equity swap transactions and of the exercise 
of the forward agreements referred to in flagging notifications dated 8 February
2007 and 11 April 2007, the holdings of Exista hf. and its group companies now  
represent more than 15 per cent of the total  number of shares and voting rights
in the Sampo Plc.                                                               

Under chapter 2, section 9 of the Securities Markets Act, we herby notify the   
Financial Supervision Authority and the Sampo Plc. of the following:            

1. Name of the company in which holdings have been acquired                     

Sampo Plc. (Sampo Oyj)                                                          

2. Reason for the notification                                                  

This notification is made because the holdings of Exista hf. and companies      
controlled by Exista hf. in Sampo Plc. exceed the flagging threshold of 15 per  
cent calculated of the number of votes and shares set forth in chapter 2,       
section 9 of the Securities Markets Act.                                        

3. Date of change in holdings                                                   

25 July 2007                                                                    

4. Exact proportion of voting rights and shares in Sampo Plc., broken down by   
the share class                                                                 

The holdings of Exista hf.'s group companies in Sampo Plc. are follows:         

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Share class      | No. of shares     | % of all shares   | % of all voting   |
|                  |                   |                   | rights            |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| A-shares         |        90,121,408 |           15.58 % |           15.45 % |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| B-shares         |                 - |                 - |                 - |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Total            |        90,121,408 |           15.58 % |           15.45 % |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(The share capital of Sampo Plc. comprises a total of 578,530,890 shares        
(577,330,890 class A shares and 1,200,000 class B shares), said shares entitling
to a total of 583,330,890 votes.)                                               

5. Shareholder's full name and trade register number                            

Full name: Exista hf.  
                                                         
Exista hf. is registered with the Register of Enterprises of Iceland by the     
registration number 610601-2350.   
                                             
Exista hf.'s address is Ármúla 3, 108 Reykjavik, Iceland.                       

6. Full names and trade register numbers of the subsidiaries through which the  
shares are held as well as grounds for including such shares in the holdings of 
the shareholder                                                                 

Exista hf. holds the shares in Sampo Plc. through its subsidiaries. These       
subsidiaries are controlled by Exista hf. within the meaning of chapter 1,      
section 5 of the Securities Markets Act. Therefore, the holdings of these       
subsidiaries shall be included in the holdings of Exista hf.                    

The full names and trade register numbers of the subsidiaries are as follows:   

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Name                                 | Trade register number                 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Exista Trading ehf. (formerly Exista | 640205-1990, Register of Enterprises  |
| fjárfestingar ehf.)                  | of Iceland                            |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf.         | 690689-2009, Register of Enterprises  |
|                                      | of Iceland                            |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Exafin B.V.                          | 34229055, Trade register maintained   |
|                                      | by the Chambers of Commerce for       |
|                                      | Amsterdam                             |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



7. Allocation of holdings between Exista hf. and the subsidiaries               

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                  | Share class | No. of      | % of all       | % of all     |
|                  |             | shares      | shares         | voting       |
|                  |             |             |                | rights       |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Exafin B.V.      |             |             |                |              |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                  | A shares    |  90,074,668 |        15.57 % |      15.44 % |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                  | B shares    |           - |              - |            - |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                  | Total       |  90,074,668 |        15.57 % |      15.44 % |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Exista Trading   |             |             |                |              |
| ehf              |             |             |                |              |
| (formerly Exista |             |             |                |              |
| fjárfestingar    |             |             |                |              |
| ehf.)            |             |             |                |              |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                  | A shares    |      15,340 |         0.003% |       0.003% |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                  | B shares    |           - |              - |            - |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                  | Total       |      15,340 |         0.003% |       0.003% |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Vátryggingafélag |             |             |                |              |
| Íslands hf.      |             |             |                |              |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                  | A shares    |      31,400 |         0.005% |       0.005% |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                  | B shares    |           - |              - |            - |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                  | Total       |      31,400 |         0.005% |       0.005% |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


8. The chain of controlled companies through which the shares and votes in Sampo
Plc. are held                                                                   

Exafin B.V., Exista Trading ehf. and Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf. are 100 per   
cent owned subsidiaries of Exista hf.                                           

9. Additional information                                                       

In addition to the holding notified in this flagging notification, Exista       
Trading ehf has undertaken equity swap transactions and forward agreements which
entitle Exista Trading ehf., if it so desires, to acquire in total 25,175,459 A 
shares in Sampo Plc., or, alternatively and upon choice by Exista Trading ehf   
with regard to some of the transactions, to receive a cash payment representing 
the increase in value of the Sampo Plc shares. The maximum number of the shares 
which Exista Trading ehf. may acquire through these transactions represent at   
present 4.35% of Sampo Plc's total shares and 4.32% of the total voting rights  
carried by the shares in Sampo Plc. The maturity dates for these transactions   
range from 9 August 2007 to 9 October 2007, but Exista Trading ehf. also has the
right to consummate some of the transactions prior to these dates in whole or in
part.                                                                           


___________________________                                                     
Asmundur Tryggvason                                                             
For and on behalf of Exista hf.