Bekaert NV — M&A Activity 2012

Apr 2, 2012

Press release Regulated information

2 April 2012

Press Katelijn Bohez T +32 56 23 05 71

Investor Relations Jacques Anckaert T +32 56 23 05 72

www.bekaert.com www.bekaert.mobi

Bekaert announces successful closing of the transaction leading to the sale of its Industrial Coatings activities

Bekaert announced today the successful closing of the transaction by which its Industrial Coatings activities have been sold to Element Partners, a Pennsylvania, US-based equity fund. The transaction covers the production facilities and all personnel in Deinze (Belgium) and Jiangyin (China), the maintenance activity at Spring Green (US), and the respective sales organization. Last Friday, Element Partners also closed the acquisition deal of Soleras Ltd., a US-based company active in the same sector.

Related press release:

27 January 2012: Bekaert announces agreement on the intended sale of its Industrial Coatings activities

About Bekaert

Bekaert (www.bekaert.com) is a global technological and market leader in advanced solutions based on metal transformation and coatings, and the world's largest independent manufacturer of drawn steel wire products. Bekaert (Euronext Brussels: BEKB) is a global company with headquarters in Belgium, employing 28 000 people worldwide. Serving customers in 120 countries, Bekaert pursues sustainable profitable growth in all its activities and generated combined sales of € 4.6 billion in 2011.

About Element Partners

Element Partners (www.elementpartners.com) is a leading growth equity firm investing in high-growth companies offering innovative products and services to the global energy, industrial and environmental markets. Element's team has over 125 combined years of experience and has successfully managed over US \$ 1.2 billion in capital commitments spanning six investment partnerships, making Element one of the earliest and most experienced investors in these markets.

Disclaimer

The foregoing release may contain forward-looking statements regarding the impact of the transaction on the financial statements of Bekaert. Such statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Bekaert is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Bekaert disclaims any liability for statements made or published by third parties and does not undertake any obligation to correct inaccurate data, information, conclusions or opinions published by third parties in relation to this or any other press release issued by Bekaert.