STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 01, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- We note the announcement today by Old Mutual in relation to their Offer for Skandia.
Lennart Jeansson, Chairman of Skandia, said:
"This move clearly demonstrates a lack of confidence by Old Mutual in the level of support for their Offer. 50 percent or 90 percent, this Offer is still inadequate and we believe Old Mutual will not achieve over 50 percent on 16 December 2005.
"We appreciate Old Mutual's decision to walk away at 16 December 2005 when they do not get sufficient Skandia shareholder support. This will allow us to get on with business and deliver on our plans for Skandia's shareholders.
"The Offer is fundamentally unchanged. There is no reason for any shareholder to change their decision on the Offer. Under Swedish laws Old Mutual does not have the ability to coerce Skandia shareholders. We still recommend shareholders not to tender their shares to Old Mutual."
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-0- Skandia Gert Engman, Head of Nordic division tel. +46-8-788 17 81 Skandia Liv Bengt-Ake Fagerman, CEO tel. +46-8-788 21 50 Harry Vos, Head of Investor Relations tel. +46-8-788 36 43