New transaction: Sale of Ehituse ABC

Saint-Gobain Distribution Nordic AB(Saint Gobain DN), has acquired the Estonian building materials chain, Famar-Desi AS, with14 stores in Estonia and Latvian companys Famar-Desi SIA with two stores in Latvia and Famar-Desi Invest SIA. Through Optimera Gruppen AS Saint-Gobain DN already has strong positions in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and this acquisition is an important element in the company’s strategy for Nordic and Baltic growth.Famar-Desi will continue its operations as part of Optimera Gruppen, under the new business-name Optimera Estonia AS. Brand name Ehituse ABC will be maintained. The company will be headed by Mr Dmitri Drajev as CEO and Anton Kutser as CFO. Optimera Estonia will also be responsible for Optimera’s activities in the Latvian market, under the legal name Optimera Latvia SIA, headed by Mr Marko Soots as CEO. The brand name Būvniecības ABC will be maintained. The acquired businesses had a 2006 turnover of EEK 1.7 billion and have a total of 700 employees.“We must have good steerage way on our existing business before entering new markets, and that’s what we’ve now got. After working purposefully on development and growth in our Norwegian and Swedish building materials businesses, we feel we’re well prepared to make a broader commitment to the Nordic market. We share Optimera’s ambitions, and that makes such a commitment possible both strategically and financially.”“We’ve followed developments in Famar-Desi with interest over a period,” notes Harald Tyrdal, chief executive of Optimera Gruppen.

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