MALMO, Sweden, Feb. 14, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Board of Directors of Wilh. Sonesson has decided to propose to the next Annual General Meeting, to be held April 24, 2002 in Malmo, that the holding of shares in Optilink be distributed to Wilh. Sonesson's shareholders, subject to the necessary decisions being made regarding a market listing of the Optilink share. The reason is that Wilh. Sonesson is streamlining and focusing on its core health products operations.
Wilh. Sonesson owns 1,464,555 shares, corresponding to 22.06% of the capital, with a book value of SEK 25.4 M. Including ownership of a convertible debenture amounting to SEK 7.9 M, which may be converted to shares in Optilink, ownership increases to 26.1% and the total book value amounts to SEK 33.3 M. Other major owners include Industrifonden (Swedish Industrial Development Fund) and the founder Peter Toth. www.optilinkgroup.com.
Based on the book value in Wilh. Sonesson of the shareholding in Optilink, the distribution corresponds to a value of SEK 1.27 per share in Wilh. Sonesson.
Wilh. Sonesson offers health products that satisfy a growing consumer demand. Health products comprise pharmaceuticals, naturopathic preparations, dietary supplements, and related personal care products.
Brief presentation of Optilink:
-- "Holograms the storage format of the future" -- Optilink is the world leader -- First license agreement -- Technology breakthrough -- Very strong market potential -- 43 patents and patent applications
Optilink was established in 1991. The company's business concept is to develop and market technology for holographic data storage.
In simple terms, this concept can be described as follows:
More and more information is being stored on computers. Although information storage capacity is increased each year in various ways, data storage continues to rely on traditional two-dimensional technology. We will soon reach a limit beyond which current technology is no longer sufficient. The answer is holograms.
Holograms are a technique for storing information in three dimensions. This means that it is possible to store a staggering amount of information in a very small space. For example, it would be possible to save more than one million CD-ROM discs in a device small enough to fit in the palm of the hand. A respected technical journal recently wrote:
"Holograms are the storage format of the future"
Research in holographic data storage has been in progress for several decades. Optilink is at the forefront of this research. Many people have demonstrated holographic storage in the laboratory, but Optilink has succeeded in taking the technology out of the laboratory and putting it in a practical and manageable format.
Optilink has developed the world's first portable device using holograms to read and write data.
Optilink is focused on three core areas: development of advanced thin- and thick-film materials for holographic data storage, development of advanced systems for reading and writing holographic data and very advanced encryption. By combining these three areas of expertise, Optilink has developed into an absolutely top-rank company internationally.
Optilink is the World Leader in Holographic Data Storage
Optilink recently signed its first license agreement with the rapidly growing company Maxsoft with operations in Korea and Japan. In addition to data storage technology, the agreement also includes joint development of an identification system that uses Optilink's technology for encryption. This means that Optilink is now entering the commercialization phase.
"This is a breakthrough," says President Fredrik Herslow.
The threat of terrorism around the world accentuates the need for increased security at all levels of society. Accordingly, demand is also increasing for the type of advanced holography and encryption in which Optilink is the world leader.
Very Strong Market Potential
During 2000, Optilink commissioned Technology Future Inc. (TFI) to conduct a market analysis. TFI specializes in predicting technical developments and what they will mean for the market and counts more than half of the Fortune 500 companies among its customers. The analysis was very strongly positive. In its report, TFI identified nine market niches, ranging from entertainment to property monitoring, with a potential that may require high-capacity data storage. These nine market niches are estimated to have a potential of about USD 25 billion through 2010.
Exhibitions and Patents
Optilink's portable device was demonstrated at major exhibitions, such as CeBIT in Hanover and the REPLItech exhibition in Geneva. The unique technology that Optilink has developed is protected by 43 patents and patent applications.
Optilink AB, the parent company for the Optilink Group, is located in Malmo, Sweden. The Danish subsidiary, which is focused on materials research, is located in Cat Science Park in Roskilde, about 20 minutes from Copenhagen. In addition, Optilink has a subsidiary in Hungary and works closely with the Technical University in Budapest and Riso National Laboratory in Roskilde, Denmark.
Owners, Employees and Management
Fredrik Herslow, previously President of Wilh. Sonesson, was appointed President of Optilink in 2001. The company currently has 31 employees, of whom seven have doctorate degrees. Optilink's major shareholders in terms of percentage of share capital are as follows:
Wilh Sonesson AB 22.1% Industrifonden 18.1% Peter Toth 16.2% Agora Invest AB 13.9% Denis Hagberg 7.9% I M Invest AB 4.6%
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