SAMPO PLC STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 16 May 2008 at 10.25 am
DISCLOSURE UNDER CHAPTER 2 SECTION 9 OF THE SECURITIES MARKET ACT
Sampo plc (business code 01422113-3) has yesterday received the following
disclosure in accordance with Chapter 2 Section 9 of the Securities Market Act
regarding Sampo plc's shares. According to the disclosure Exista hf. and
companies controlled by Exista hf. hold shares in Sampo plc below of the
flagging threshold of 20 per cent of the number of shares as set forth in
Chapter 2, Section 9 of the Securities Market Act.
According to the disclosure Exista Trading ehf. has also cancelled the equity
swap agreement regarding 100,000 A shares in Sampo plc referred to in Exista
hf.'s flagging notification of 11 February 2008.
According to the disclosure Exista hf. and its group companies hold 19.98 per
cent of the total number of shares and 19.82 per cent of the voting rights in
the Sampo plc.
SAMPO PLC
Essi Nikitin
IR Manager
tel. +358 10 516 0066
Distribution:
OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki
The principal media
Financial Supervision
Insurance Supervisory Authority
www.sampo.com
DISCLOSURE
Finnish Financial Supervision Authority 15 May 2008
Snellmaninkatu 6
P.O. Box 159
FI-00101 Helsinki
Finland
to be delivered by e-mail to:
kirjaamo@rahoitustarkastus.fi
Sampo Plc.
Fabianinkatu 27
FI-00100 Helsinki
Finland
Fax: + 358 10 516 0016
to be delivered by e-mail to:
jarmo.salonen@sampo.fi
A FLAGGING NOTIFICATION REFERRED TO IN CHAPTER 2, SECTION 9 OF THE SECURITIES
MARKETS ACT ON A CHANGE IN HOLDINGS
This is a notification about Exista's divest of shares in Sampo in order to
maintain Exista's 19.98 per cent shareholding unchanged, following decided
cancellation of shares in Sampo Plc.
As a result of transactions entered into by Exista hf.'s group companies and the
cancellation of Sampo Plc.'s trasury shares, Exista hf.'s combined current and
future holdings in Sampo Plc. fall below 20 per cent of the shares of Sampo Plc.
but the current holdings remain at the previous level of 19.98 per cent of the
total number of shares and 19.82 per cent. of the voting rights. These
transactions have been carried out to maintain the holdings at the level
authorised by the relevant regulatory authorities, including the Finnish
Insurance Supervision Authority.
Under Chapter 2, section 9 of the Securities Markets Act, we herby notify the
Financial Supervision Authority and Sampo Plc. of the following:
1. Identity of the issuer
Sampo Plc. (Sampo Oyj)
2. Reason for the notification
This notification is made because:
- Sampo Plc. has on 7 May 2008 decided to cancel a total of 6,715,000 of its
treasury A shares, but the cancellation has not been registered at the date of
this notification;
- Exista B.V., Exista Trading ehf. and Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf. have
divested a total of 1,350,000 A shares in Sampo Plc.; and
- Exista Trading ehf. has cancelled the equity swap agreement regarding 100,000
A shares in Sampo Plc referred to in Exista hf.'s flagging notification of 11
February 2008.
Therefore, the combined current and future holdings of Exista hf.'s group
companies fall below 20 per cent of the shares of Sampo Plc., but the current
holdings remain at 19.98 per cent of the total number of shares and 19.82 per
cent of the voting rights in the Sampo Plc, which is the previous level of
holdings approved by the relevant regulatory authorities, including the Finnish
Insurance Supervision Authority.
3. Date of the transactions
15 May 2008
4. Exact proportion of voting rights and shares in Sampo Plc., broken down by
the share class
Subsequent to registration of the cancellation of Sampo Plc.'s treasury shares
the total holdings of Exista hf.'s group in Sampo Plc. will be as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Share class | No. of shares | % of all shares | % of all voting |
| | | | rights |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| A-shares | 114,257,867 | 19.98% | 19.82% |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| B-shares | - | - | - |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Total | 114,257,867 | 19.98% | 19.82% |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After registration of the cancellation of the treasury shares, the share capital
of Sampo Plc. will comprise a total of 571,815,890 shares (570,615,890 class A
shares and 1,200,000 class B shares), said shares entitling to a total of
576,615,890 votes.
5. Shareholder's full name and trade register number
Full name: Exista hf.
Exista hf. is registered with the Register of Enterprises of Iceland under the
registration number 610601-2350.
Exista hf.'s address is Ármúli 3, 108 Reykjavik, Iceland.
The shares issued by Exista hf. have been admitted to public trading on the main
list of the OMX Nordic Exchange Iceland.
Contact person:
Sigurdur Nordal
Managing Director
Group Communications
Exista hf.
Ármúli 3, IS-108 Reykjavík
Telephone: +354 550 8620
Fax: +354 550 8699
E-mail: ir@exista.com
6. Full names and trade register numbers of the subsidiaries through which the
shares are held as well as grounds for including such shares in the holdings of
the shareholder
Exista hf. holds the shares in Sampo Plc. through its subsidiaries. These
subsidiaries are controlled by Exista hf. within the meaning of Chapter 1,
section 5 of the Securities Markets Act.
The full names and trade register numbers of the subsidiaries are as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Name | Trade register number |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Exafin B.V. | 34229055, Trade register maintained |
| | by the Chambers of Commerce for |
| | Amsterdam |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Exista B.V. | 34221959, Trade register maintained |
| | by the Chambers of Commerce for |
| | Amsterdam |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Allocation of holdings between Exista hf. and the subsidiaries
Exista B.V., Exista Trading ehf. and Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf. have divested
divested an aggregate of 1,350,000 A shares in Sampo Plc., and Exista Trading
ehf. has cancelled the equity swap agreement relating to 100,000 A shares in
Sampo Plc. referred to in Exista hf.'s flagging notification of 11 Feburary
2008. Consequently, after registration of the cancellation of Sampo Plc.'s
treasury shares, the holdings of Exista hf.'s group companies in Sampo Plc. will
be as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | Share class | No. of shares | % of all | % of all |
| | | | shares | voting |
| | | | | rights |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Exafin B.V. | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | A shares | 90,074,668 | 15.75% | 15.62% |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | B shares | - | - | - |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | Total | 90,074,668 | 15.75% | 15.62% |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Exista B.V. | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | A shares | 24,183,199 | 4.23% | 4.19% |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | B shares | - | - | - |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | Total | 24,183,199 | 4.23% | 4.19% |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. The chain of controlled companies through which the shares and votes in Sampo
Plc. are held
Exafin B.V. is a 100 per cent directly-owned subsidiary of Exista hf.
Exista hf. owns 100 per cent of the shares in Exista Holdings B.V., which in
turn owns 100 per cent of the shares in Exista B.V.
___________________________
Pekka Jaatinen, Attorney-at-Law
For and on behalf of Exista hf.