SOLNA, Sweden, May 31, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- NCC has entered into an agreement to sell 40 properties in Sweden to Whitehall Street International Real Estate Limited Partnership 2001 and certain affiliated funds (Whitehall Funds). The Whitehall Funds are real estate investment funds managed by Goldman Sachs International. The purchase price of SEK 3,950 million will generate a gain of SEK 430 million for NCC. The sale will affect earnings during the second quarter of 2002.
The 40 properties comprise total floor space of about 240,000 square meters and have a total rental value of approximately SEK 400 million. Properties located in the Stockholm region account for about half of the total floor space and most of the property value. The other properties are located in Gothenburg, Malmo, Lund, Uppsala, Vasteras, Eskilstuna and Strangnas.
The 40 properties covered by the sale included Munchenbryggeriet in Sodermalm, Stockholm and NCC's and ICA's head offices at Jarva Krog, Solna. Eight of the properties are the result of real estate projects developed by NCC and the others are managed properties. (See Appendix)
The estimated takeover date is June 28, 2002. Whitehall's acquisition is subject to the approval of the Swedish Competition Authority.
Following the completion of this real estate transaction, NCC will have divested most of its portfolio of managed properties and will own managed properties with a book value of close to SEK 1,300 million.
"We have previously expressed our ambition of selling our managed properties within two years, meaning before the end of 2003. This transaction is a major step towards achieving our objective. I would also like to emphasize that the capital gain on the sale confirms that our real estate portfolio contains considerable surplus values," said Magnus Mannesson, President of NCC Property Development.
For further information, please contact: Magnus Mannesson, President of NCC Property Development Tel +46 8 585 52275 Gisela Lindstrand, Press Relation Manager NCC AB Tel +46 8 585 52346, +46 70 392 9500 Stefan Holmlund, Marketing Manager NCC Property Dev. Tel +46 8 585 51954
All of NCC's press releases are available on www.ncc.se NCC is one of the leading construction and property development companies in the Nordic region. NCC has annual sales of SEK 46 billion, with 25,000 employees. Whitehall Funds invest in real estate and real estate related assets around the world, principally through the acquisition of real estate companies, real property and mortgage loans. In total, the Whitehall Funds currently have invested or committed equity capital in excess of $10 billion.
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