Nordisk Renting acquired Swedish
Match’s Corporate headquarters in Stockholm on December 21,
1998, and at the same time entered into a long-term leasing
agreement for the entire property.
The divestment will result in a
capital gain of SEK 267 M for Swedish Match.
The sale of the property is part
of Swedish Match’s strategy of preparing itself to play an
active part in suitable structural transactions in the tobacco
industry.
The property, the building of
which began in the 1920s, originally housed the only modern
tobacco factory and raw tobacco warehouse in the Stockholm
region. Since then, the property has been successively converted
and extended and today it is a high-class, modern office
property. The freehold site comprises an entire block of 19,000
square meters bounded by Rosenlundsgatan, Maria Bangata and Maria
Skolgata. Included with the property are development rights for
approximately 6,000 square meters. The buildings have a leasable
area of slightly more than 44,000 square meters, as well as 110
garage parking spaces.
This property acquisition is an
element in Nordisk Renting’s strategy of acquiring
properties for long-term lease to financially strong parties.
Swedish Match is an
international group with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. The
company manufactures a broad range of tobacco products, matches
and disposable lighters which are sold in approximately 140
countries. Annual sales in 1997 amounted to approximately 7,500
MSEK. Swedish Match is listed on Stockholm Stock Exchange and on
NASDAQ.
Nordisk Renting is one of
Sweden’s largest property companies. Its business comprises
a total of 270 properties with a floor area of 2.8 million m2
in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Germany and Switzerland.
Nordisk Renting acquires and develops properties for long-term
leasing and is responsible for management, administration and
financial management of a property portfolio worth a total of
approximately SEK 22 billion.
The Nordisk Renting
Group’s earnings amounted to SEK 267 M in 1997 and are
expected to amount to SEK 350 M in 1998.
Nordisk renting is owned by
MeritaNordbanken (40%), Atle AB (35%) and 6th
AP Fund (25%).
For further information, please
contact:
Swedish Match AB
Sven Hindrikes, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial
Officer, +46 8-658 02 82
Bo Aulin, Senior Vice President,
Corporate Affairs, +46 8-658 03 64
Boel Sundvall, Vice President,
Investor Relations, +46 8-658 01 73
Nordisk Renting AB
Göte Dahlin, President, +46 8-670 98 00
Åke von Ajkay, Director, +46
8-670 98 00