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M&A Activity • Apr 2, 2007

News Details

Corporate | 2 April 2007 12:20

ARQUES Austria takes over Austrian textile trade chain, Schöps

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 Austria takes over Austrian textile trade chain, Schöps

• Successful internationalisation of ARQUES business model

Starnberg, April 2, 2007 – The Austrian ARQUES Austria Invest AG with
headquarters in Vienna, a subsidiary of the Starnberg-based equity
investment company, ARQUES Industries AG (ISIN DE0005156004), acquires the
majority in the Austrian textile trade chain, Schöps. The transaction is
subject to the approval of the relevant cartel authorities.

Schöps is one of the largest and best known traditional textile trade
chains in Austria and has a country-wide branch network. Schöps is
represented in all Austrian federal states with a total of 120 branches of
which 30 are located in Vienna. The product range of the traditional
company founded in 1954 consists of ladies’ wear for the fashion conscious
woman from 20 upward as well as for young girls and children. Lingerie,
accessories as well as swimwear round off the range.

Richard Schöps & Co AG generated revenues of around EUR 70 million with
approximately 800 employees. The previous owner, Private Holdings of
Investments Luxembourg S.A. will maintain shareholder in the textile chain.
ARQUES subsidiary manager, Dr. Wolfgang Neubert, will be appointed to the
executive board as CEO and the Italian retail expert, Cristina Romagnoli,
who has already been working for Schöps in a consulting capacity for
several months. After studying communications engineering in Vienna, Dr.
Neubert worked at McKinsey where he managed the Austrian office as managing
partner. ARQUES Austria Invest AG with headquarters in Vienna was founded
in autumn 2006 within the context of the internationalisation of the ARQUES
business model; ARQUES manager, Franz Maurer, manages the company locally.

After Golf House and Fritz Berger, Schöps is already the third retail trade
subsidiary. Furthermore, through Fritz Berger, ARQUES is an exclusive Jack
Wolfskin retail partner in Germany. The acquisition of the textile trade
chain by ARQUES Austria is a further important step in the
internationalisation of the ARQUES business model. As recently as the
beginning of February, the Spanish ARQUES subsidiary, ARQUES Iberia,
Madrid, took over the antioxidant activities of Degussa in Spain and
England. Already in summer 2006, ARQUES Swiss was responsible for the
takeover of the large printing company, Farbendruck Weber AG. Including the
recent transaction, ARQUES has already acquired companies with a revenues
volume of more than EUR 180 million in the current financial year 2007. The
annualised annual revenues thereby increase to approximately EUR 1.3
billion.

ARQUES Austria Invest AG took legal advice regarding the transaction from
the commercial lawyers, Dr. Andreas Mayr and Dr. Jürgen Kittel, of the
renowned Viennese law firm DORDA BRUGGER JORDIS.

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 02.04.2007

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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