Bekaert NV — Major Shareholding Notification 2017

Mar 22, 2017

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

Company Secretary

Regulated information

22 March 2017, 17:45

Publication of a transparency notification

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

NV Bekaert SA ("Bekaert") has received three transparency notifications dated 17 March 2017:

1) The first transparency notification indicates that Norges Bank, by virtue of a decrease in shares held as collateral on 14 March 2017, held 2.93% of the voting rights of the company. Therefore the threshold of 3% was crossed downward.

The notification contains the following information:

• Reason for the notification: acquisition or disposal of voting securities or voting rights; downward crossing of the lowest threshold.
• 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: 14 March 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	1 812 832	1 769 896		2.93%

Isabelle Vander Vekens T +32 56 23 05 11 www.bekaert.com

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

Total (A & B)	Number of voting rights	% of voting rights
	1 769 896	2.93%

• 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 a decrease in shares held as collateral.
• 2) The second transparency notification indicates that Norges Bank, by virtue of an increase in shares held as collateral on 15 March 2017, held 3.10% of the voting rights of the company. Therefore the threshold of 3% was crossed.

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: 15 March 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	1 769 896	1 868 788	0	3.10%	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
				0	0.00%

Total (A & B)	Number of voting rights	% of voting rights
	1 868 788	3.10%

• 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.
• 3) The third transparency notification indicates that Norges Bank now holds, by virtue of a decrease in shares held as collateral on 16 March 2017, 2.98% of the voting rights of the company. Therefore the threshold of 3% was crossed downward.

The notification contains the following information:

• Reason for the notification: acquisition or disposal of voting securities or voting rights; downward crossing of the lowest threshold.

• 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: 16 March 2017.
• Threshold that is crossed: 3%.
• Denominator: 60 347 525.
• Notified Details:

E) 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	1 868 788	1 795 943		2.98%

F) 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

Total (A & B)	Number of voting rights	% of voting rights
	1 795 943	2.98%

• 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 a decrease 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.