STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- In connection with Old Mutual plc's announcement early this summer to the Board of Directors of Skandia Insurance Company Ltd (publ.) of its interest in making a public offer for all Skandia shares, Old Mutual requested to perform due diligence of Skandia. The Board accepted this request. Prior to the start of this process, a customary confidentiality agreement was reached.
In connection with the public announcement of its offer to Skandia's shareholders, Old Mutual stated that it plans to distribute a prospectus at the end of September, after which time Skandia's shareholders will have to take a position on the offer.
In view of this and pursuant to the Industry and Commerce Stock Exchange Committee's takeover rules, following is a summary of previously non-public information that was provided to Old Mutual -- as well as to certain other parties -- in the course of the due diligence process.
Most of the information provided in the course of the due diligence process was either immaterial concerning the valuation of Skandia's shares or confirmatory of existing public information. However, the Board has determined that there were three areas of disclosure that could have an impact on the valuation of Skandia's shares. These are:
- Business plans for the years 2005-2007 - A project regarding identification of cost reduction opportunities and synergies within the group, over and above plan (the "Turbo plan") - A special assessment of embedded value as per 31 March 2005 performed by Tillinghast, a business unit of Towers Perrin
These areas are summarised below. Further information on Tillinghast's work is provided in a presentation on Skandia's website: www.skandia.com/en/ir/otherevents.shtml. All of this information was originally prepared for internal use and has not been subject to a review by Skandia's auditors. The results from the review of the Turbo plan and Tillinghast's assessment are over and above the business plan and were developed independently of each other. Tillinghast's work did not consider the synergies identified.