Bekaert NV — Major Shareholding Notification 2017

Apr 28, 2017

Press - Investors Katelijn Bohez T +32 56 23 05 71

Company Secretary Isabelle Vander Vekens T +32 56 23 05 11

www.bekaert.com

Regulated information

28 April 2017, 17:45

Publication of transparency notifications

(Article 14, first paragraph, of the Law of 2 May 2007 on disclosure of major holdings)

NV Bekaert SA ("Bekaert") has received two transparency notifications:

1) The first transparency notification dated 25 April 2017 indicates that Norges Bank, by virtue of an increase in shares held as collateral on 24 April 2017, held 3.02% of the voting rights of the company. Therefore the threshold of 3% was crossed.

The notification dated 25 April 2017 contains the following information:

• Reason for the notification: acquisition or disposal of voting securities or voting rights.
• Notification by: a person that notifies alone.
• Person subject to the notification requirement: Norges Bank (the Central Bank of Norway), Bankplassen 2, PO Box 1179 Sentrum, Oslo, 0107, Norway.
• Transaction date: 24 April 2017.
• Threshold that is crossed: 3%.
• Denominator: 60 347 525.
• Notified Details:

A) Voting rights	Previous notification	After the transaction
	Number of voting rights	Number of voting rights		% of voting rights
Holders of voting rights		Linked to securities	Not linked to securities	Linked to securities	Not linked to securities
Norges Bank	1 746 089	1 802 093	0	2.99%	0.00%

B)Equivalent financial instruments	After the transaction
Holders of equivalent financial instruments	Type of financial instrument	Expiration date	Exercise period or date	Number of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised	% of voting rights	Settlement
Norges Bank	Shares on loan (right to recall)		At any time	20 600	0.03%	Physical

Total (A & B)	Number of voting rights	% of voting rights
	1 822 693	3.02%

• Chain of controlled undertakings through which the holding is effectively held: Norges Bank is the central bank of Norway. As part of its central bank activities, Norges Bank manages Norway's foreign exchange reserves and is responsible for management of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG). The formal responsibility for management of the GPFG is placed with the Ministry of Finance, but is delegated to Norges Bank. All investments are executed by Norges Bank acting as principal and all holdings are registered in the name of Norges Bank.
• Additional information: This notification was triggered by an increase in shares held as collateral.
• 2) The second transparency notification dated 26 April 2017 indicates that Norges Bank, by virtue of an increase in shares held as collateral on 25 April 2017, now holds 3.05% of the voting rights of the company and 3.02% of the voting rights linked to securities. Therefore the threshold of 3% was crossed in the category of voting rights linked to securities.

The notification contains the following information:

• Reason for the notification: acquisition or disposal of voting securities or voting rights.
• Notification by: a person that notifies alone.
• Person subject to the notification requirement: Norges Bank (the Central Bank of Norway), Bankplassen 2, PO Box 1179 Sentrum, Oslo, 0107, Norway.
• Transaction date: 25 April 2017.
• Threshold that is crossed: 3%.
• Denominator: 60 347 525.

• Notified Details:

C) Voting rights	Previous notification	After the transaction
	Number of voting rights	Number of voting rights		% of voting rights
Holders of voting rights		Linked to securities	Not linked to securities	Linked to securities	Not linked to securities
Norges Bank	1 802 093	1 822 943	0	3.02%	0.00%

D)Equivalent financial instruments	After the transaction
Holders of equivalent financial instruments	Type of financial instrument	Expiration date	Exercise period or date	Number of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised	% of voting rights	Settlement
Norges Bank	Shares on loan (right to recall)		At any time	20 600	0.03%	Physical

Total (A & B)	Number of voting rights	% of voting rights
	1 843 543	3.05%

• Chain of controlled undertakings through which the holding is effectively held: Norges Bank is the central bank of Norway. As part of its central bank activities, Norges Bank manages Norway's foreign exchange reserves and is responsible for management of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG). The formal responsibility for management of the GPFG is placed with the Ministry of Finance, but is delegated to Norges Bank. All investments are executed by Norges Bank acting as principal and all holdings are registered in the name of Norges Bank.
• Additional information: This notification was triggered by an increase in shares held as collateral.

Profile

Bekaert (www.bekaert.com) is a world market and technology leader in steel wire transformation and coating technologies. We pursue to be the preferred supplier for our steel wire products and solutions by continuously delivering superior value to our customers worldwide. Bekaert (Euronext Brussels: BEKB) is a global company with almost 30 000 employees worldwide, headquarters in Belgium and € 4.4 billion in annual revenue.