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M&A Activity • Apr 4, 2007

News Details

Corporate | 4 April 2007 08:20

ARQUES takes over confectionery manufacturer, van Netten

ARQUES Industries AG / Acquisition

Release of a Corporate-announcement, transmitted by DGAP - a company of
EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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ARQUES takes over confectionery manufacturer, van Netten

• Companies with revenue volume of EUR 250 million already acquired in 2007

Starnberg, April 4, 2007. The equity investment company, ARQUES Industries
AG (ISIN DE0005156004), has taken over all shares in the Dortmund-based
confectionery manufacturer, van Netten GmbH. Seller is Zuckerfabrik Jülich
AG, which is to concentrate on its core business in the future. The
transaction is subject to the approval of the relevant cartel authorities.

The company, van Netten GmbH, founded in 1918 and based in Dortmund, is a
manufacturer of confectionery and generated revenues to the value of
approximately EUR 70 million. Van Netten supplies large trade chains and
discounters with private brands and store brands. The target markets of the
confectionery manufacturer are Germany, the European Union and Eastern
Europe. The company specialises in the production of fruit gums, jellies,
confectionery, sweets and sugar-coated candy. Within the context of the
transaction, ARQUES acquires, among other things, an almost 100,000 square
meter large property on which storage and production facilities are
located.

'With the confectionery manufacturer, van Netten, we have acquired a
traditional company which has been firmly established on the market for
years. Van Netten is not only a partner to the trade but also to the
industry and is considered a reliable and competent service provider which
has already developed numerous confectionery innovations', said ARQUES
executive chairman, Dr. Dr. Peter Löw.

The company was taken over in accordance with the ARQUES philosophy. The
acquisition of van Netten GmbH is already the fifth transaction of the
ARQUES group in 2007. Companies with a revenue volume of approximately EUR
250 million have been acquired. ARQUES expects to buy additional companies
with revenues of EUR 800 million in the current financial year. By way of
the acquisition of van Netten, the ARQUES annualised annual group revenues
rise to approximately EUR 1.4 billion. At the press conference on March 30,
ARQUES affirmed its target for 2007 of generating consolidated annual
revenues of EUR 1.5 billion as well as an EBITDA of EUR 180 million.

About ARQUES:
ARQUES Industries AG, Starnberg, (www.arques.de), is a turnaround
specialist who focuses on the acquisition and the active restructuring of
companies in transitional situations, in order to develop these, with its
own team and own resources, to competitive enterprises with a positive
yield. ARQUES revitalises its subsidiaries' potential for creating value
for the benefit of all its stakeholders, taking on the relevant social
responsibility. ARQUES has made a duty of identifying underestimated
companies with reduced survivability but with high appreciation potential,
at the same time mastering complex company structures and transitional
situations. The shares of ARQUES Industries AG are traded in the regulated
market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol
'AQU' (ISIN: DE0005156004) and are listed in the SDAX since September 19,
2005.

Contact:
ARQUES Industries AG

Investor Relations & Corporate Communication
Anke Lüdemann, CEFA/CIIA
Email: luedemann@arques.de

Public Relations
Christian Schneider
Email: schneider@arques.de

Tel.: +49 (0) 8151/ 651 0

DGAP 04.04.2007

Language: English
Issuer: ARQUES Industries AG
Münchner Str. 15a
82319 Starnberg Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)8151 651-0
Fax: +49 (0)8151 651- 500
E-mail: info@arques.de
www: www.arques.de
ISIN: DE0005156004
WKN: 515600
Indices: SDAX
Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin-Bremen, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart

End of News DGAP News-Service

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