SAMPO COMMENCES REPURCHASE OF ITS OWN A SHARES

SAMPO PLC         STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE           11 December 2009 at 9.30 am  


SAMPO COMMENCES REPURCHASE OF ITS OWN A SHARES   
                               
Sampo plc's Annual General Meeting on 7 April 2009 granted Sampo plc's Board of 
Directors authorization to repurchase Sampo's A shares with distributable       
capital and reserves. Maximum amount to be repurchased is 50,000,000 A shares.  

The Board has today decided to repurchase Sampo A shares maximum amount of      
5,000,000 corresponding to approximately 0.9 per cent of the total number of    
shares. Repurchases shall decrease the distributable capital and reserves.      

The shares shall be acquired through public trading on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki  
at market price prevailing at the time of repurchase. Weighty financial reasons 
for repurchases exist as they are carried out in order to follow the company's  
distribution policy.                                                            

Share repurchases shall start on 21 December 2009 at the earliest, and end by   
the end of the next Annual General Meeting 13 April 2010 at the latest.         


SAMPO PLC                                                                       

Jarmo Salonen                                                                   
Head of Investor Relations and Group Communications                             
phone +358 10 516 0030                                                          


Distribution:                                                                   
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki                                                             
The principal media                                                             
Financial Supervisory Authority                                                 
www.sampo.com