Scribona acquires Catella and creates a strong new European finance group (SE)

Scribona AB, listed on First North, has made a deal to acquire Catella AB, a European finance group that specializes in financial advisory services and asset management. The total cash amount, including redemption of Catella's debts, amounts to 417 miilion SEK (approx. € 42.8 mln.). Goodwill from the acquisition amounts to approximately 240 million SEK. The acquisition is expected to have a positive effect, already during 2010, on profits per share for Scribona's shareholders. The merger of Scribona and Catella creates a financially strong, publicly listed European finance group in financial advisory services, asset management and banking.

Once merged, the company intends to change its name to Catella. The new Scribona-Catella group will have 420 employees in 14 countries. Pro-forma equity for the new group totalled 870 mln. SEK as of 31 March 2010. The new Scribona-Catella group aims to list the company's shares on the main list for Nasdaq OMX Stockholm.

Selling the shares in Catella is Catella's management group, which previously acquired Catella from Catella's former owner Catella Luxembourg S.a.r.l. (undergoing name change) for the same amount now being paid by Scribona. Catella Foundation owns 91 percent of Catella Luxembourg, and Inter IKEA owns 9 percent. As partial payment for the Catella shares, Scribona will offer subscription options with a market value of just under 30 mln. SEK. The new share issue will be directed to the sellers of shares in Catella, who also form Catella's management group. Parts of the subscription options will then be acquired by an additional 50 leading individuals in Catella. The subscription options have a maturity of between three and six years.

CEO will be Johan Ericsson, former CEO for Catella Financial Advisory.

"Scribona has been searching for exactly what Catella has – a growth business that complements and strengthens our own business. The new Scribona-Catella will form a strong platform for growth and value creation. By providing subscription options to management in the company, we can ensure continuity and stability in operations, which is important for Scribona's shareholders," says Lorenzo Garcia, who is stepping down as CEO for Scribona.

"Our business operations complement each other perfectly. By merging with Scribona, Catella can take an important step towards the growth we see for financial services in the fund market and the property sector. Aside from benefiting from business synergies and the competence Scribona has in its subsidiaries Banque Invik and EETI, Catella will gain a stable and long-term ownership solution. Scribona has been our first choice. With this deal we can continue operating with a strong capital base, and with Catella as our company name. Furthermore, being publicly listed will convey a mark of quality," says Johan Ericsson, CEO for the new group

"We are very satisfied with this deal. The creation of Scribona-Catella is in line with our intentions to give Catella a long-term owner in a financially strong constellation, which secures a positive future for Catella," says Lars Bertmar, a representative for Catella Luxembourg.

Catella is one of the leading advisors in Europe in the areas of property transactions and property financing, with a transaction volume of almost 300 billion SEK during the past three years. Catella also has specialist competence in capital market services and other areas of corporate finance.

In asset management, Catella offers a complete product program covering several types of assets, both for institutions and individuals. In total, the new Scribona-Catella group has approximately 45 billion SEK in assets under management in various funds and financial products. For its corporate customers, the group can offer everything from discretionary service mandates to specialised funds and management services. For individuals, the group offers both fund products and private banking services through its subsidiary Banque Invik.

Banque Invik also runs a profitable debit and credit card business, an area

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