Agreement concerning the sale of Scancem´s operations in Finland
Agreement concerning the sale of Scancem´s operations in Finland
Agreement concerning the sale of Scancem´s operations in Finland
Scancem has signed a binding agreement concerning the sale of all of the shares in its Finnish subsidiaries, Finncement Oy and Lohja Rudus Oy, to the Irish building materials group CRH for a total consideration of SEK 3,550 million. The transaction is expected to close before the end of July 1999 subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.
Skanska and Aker RGI have, as has previously been announced, signed a binding agreement concerning the sale of all of their respective shares in Scancem to Heidelberger Zement AG. The final price that Heidelberger Zement would pay for the shares was conditioned by the price that Scancem would receive for its Finnish subsidiaries. The price that Heidelberger Zement will pay for the shares in Scancem has now been fixed accordingly to SEK 395.37 per A share and SEK 376.31 per B share. Skanska and Aker will keep the right to the proposed dividend in Scancem for the financial year 1998 of SEK 12 per share.
For Skanska, total proceeds from the share sale amount to about SEK 8.5 billion, with a capital gain of about SEK 3.5 billion. The taxable gain amounts to about SEK 4.2 billion.
The sale to Heidelberger Zement is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals. Subject to such approvals, Heidelberger Zement has committed to offer other shareholders in Scancem to sell their shares to Heidelberger Zement for at least the same price. Such public offer is expected to be launched by the end of August 1999.
Following the sale of Scancems Finnish operations and the sale of Skanska´s shares in Scancem, respectively, the undertakings in Skanska´s settlement with the European Commission in November 1998 have been fulfilled.
"I am very pleased, both in terms of the financial outcome and by the way this very complex sales process has been completed in such a short period of time, says Skanska´s CEO Claes Björk in a comment to the transaction." It was also important for us to secure an option for the other shareholders in Scancem to sell their shares for at least the same price, which will be the case. We and the management of Scancem also believe that Heidelberger Zement and CRH are suitable strategic buyers, which of course is important for the employees of the operations now being sold. In summary, therefor, all parties concerned have reason to be pleased with the outcome.
Stockholm, May 10, 1999
SKANSKA AB
Group Communication
For additional information, contact:
Anders Nyrén, EVP Finance, tel +46 8-753 86 32
Staffan Schéle, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations,
tel +46 8 753 82 72