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2007-08-31 12:30:00 CEST 2007-08-31 12:30:00 CEST REGULATED INFORMATION Fiskars - Company AnnouncementIITTALA GROUP BECOMES IMPORTANT PART OF FISKARSFiskars Corporation Stock Exchange Release August 31, 2007 at 1.30 p.m. IITTALA GROUP BECOMES IMPORTANT PART OF FISKARS Creation of strong European house of branded goods and design confirmed The deal signed in June 2007 whereby Fiskars Corporation acquires Iittala Group has been closed as planned. The approvals from the competition authorities required for the transaction were received in the beginning of August. The purchase price is EUR 230 million and it will be funded by using the Corporation's existing credit facilities. Fiskars Corporation acquires Iittala Group Plc from the private equity company ABN AMRO Capital, the company's management and other private shareholders. The top management of Iittala will retain a holding of about 2 percent in Iittala. Iittala Group will be consolidated as of September 1st and the company's net sales and operating profit, most of which is generated during the last months of the year, will improve Fiskars' figures. Iittala Group will form a new European business within Fiskars Corporation alongside Fiskars Brands. Certain parts of the Housewares division of Fiskars Brands will be consolidated into Iittala Group where the market areas are shared. Tero Vähäkylä will continue as Iittala Group's CEO. Synergy effects will follow in the next two to three years and are thereafter expected to reach EUR 5 million annually. The net sales of Iittala Group in 2006 were approximately EUR 190 million, and some EUR 490 million for Fiskars consumer products operations, Fiskars Brands. The Housewares division represented 9% of the net sales for Fiskars Brands. The operating profit of the Iittala Group in 2006 amounted to approximately EUR 17 million and the profitability of the Housewares division of Fiskars Brands was also good. Heikki Allonen President and CEO Founded in 1649, Fiskars (www.fiskars.fi) is an international corporation which includes the subsidiaries Fiskars Brands, Inha Works, and the Real Estate Group. Fiskars holdings in associated company Wärtsilä is also an important part of Fiskars Corporation. In 2006, the net sales of Fiskars Corporation was EUR 535 million, its operating profit EUR 86 million. The Corporation employed some 3,000 people around the world. Globally, the Corporation's best known products are its orange-handled scissors and its garden tools. |
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