Ratos — M&A Activity 2008

Dec 2, 2008

Ratos AB (publ), Drottninggatan 2 Box 1661 SE-111 96 Stockholm Org nr/Corp. Id. no. SE 556008-3585 Tel +46 8 700 17 00 Fax +46 8 10 25 59 www.ratos.se

P R E S S R E L E A S E 2 December 2008

This information is disclosed in accordance with the Securities Markets Act, the Financial Instruments Trading Act or demands made in the exchange rules.

Bisnode to acquire WLW

Ratos's subsidiary Bisnode has concluded an agreement to acquire all the shares in the German company WLW. The seller is the Italian group Seat Pagine Gialle and the purchase price amounts to approximately SEK 411m (Enterprise Value). Ratos will provide equity of approximately SEK 288m in conjunction with this deal.

Bisnode is one of Europe's leading suppliers of digital business information with services within market, credit and product information. Ratos became a principal owner of Bisnode in 2005 when Ratos's associated company Infodata merged with Bonnier Business Information. Since then the company has strengthened its leading position in the European market through some 20 strategic acquisitions. The company has approximately 3,000 employees. Bisnode has enjoyed a highly positive profitability trend in recent years and sales in 2007 totalled SEK 3,899m with an operating profit (EBITA) of SEK 580m.

WLW (Wer liefert was?) offers supplier search services on the internet and the company has a strong market position in the German-speaking countries of Europe. The head office is located in Hamburg and the company has some 250 employees. Sales in 2007 amounted to SEK 355m and operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) was SEK 73m.

"WLW is an ideal partner for our Product Databases & Tradepress business area. The acquisition will provide significant synergy gains while strengthening our customer offering," says Bisnode's CEO Johan Wall.

Ratos will provide equity of SEK 288m to Bisnode in conjunction with the acquisition of WLW. Ratos's holding in Bisnode amounts to 70%, the remainder is owned by Bonnier Holding AB.

The acquisition of WLW is subject to approval from the relevant competition authorities.

For further information, please contact: Arne Karlsson, CEO Ratos, +46 8 700 17 00 Bo Jungner, Investment Director Ratos, +46 8 700 17 85 Johan Wall, CEO Bisnode, +46 8 507 140 00 Clara Bolinder-Lundberg, Head of Corporate Communications Ratos, +46 8 700 17 63

Financial calendar from Ratos: Year-End Report 2008 19 February 2009 Annual General Meeting 2009 2 April 2009 Interim Report January – March 2009 7 May 2009 Interim Report January – June 2009 20 August 2009 Interim Report January – September 2009 5 November 2009

Ratos is a listed private equity company. The business concept is to maximise shareholder value over time by investing in, developing and divesting primarily unlisted companies. Ratos offers investors a unique investment opportunity. Ratos's equity is approximately SEK 11 billion and has a market capitalisation of approximately SEK 19 billion. Ratos's holdings include AH Industries, Anticimex, Arcus Gruppen, Bisnode, Camfil, Contex, DIAB, EuroMaint, GS-Hydro, Haglöfs, HL Display, HÅG/RH/RBM, Hägglunds Drives, Inwido, Jøtul, Lindab, MCC, Medisize, Superfos and Other holdings.