Thule withdraws the EU filing for the Pewag acquisition and terminates the contract to acquire Pewag

Malmö, December 20th, 2006 – Thule, the world leader in Sports Utility Transportation, announces the withdrawal of the Pewag acquisition from filing at the European Commission and the termination of the contract to acquire Pewag Schneeketten GmbH.

“Since the initial filing in May we have been in close contact with the European Commission to resolve its concerns regarding market positions of the combined snow chains operations in various European countries“, says Anders Pettersson, President & CEO of the Thule Group. “During the extended investigation period since Mid August we have not been successful in convincing the EU commission about our position”, Anders Pettersson continues. “We have now decided to recall the filing process and to revoke the contract to acquire Pewag in order to avoid damage on business relationships at both companies”, adds Anders Pettersson.

“However, Snow Chains remain a core business division within the Thule Group and we are determined to grow the business in the future”, concludes Anders Pettersson.

Background

The Thule Group acquired in 2004 the Italian snow chain producer König (net sales in 2005 of SEK 308 M) in line with its strategy of growing the company in adjacent product categories that support the Thule positioning as being world leader in Sports Utility Transportation. Thule’s snow chain business has a focus on passenger car chains. The acquisition contract with Austrian Pewag Schneeketten GmbH (net sales in 2005 of € 48M) was signed late March. Pewag offers snow chains mainly for professional use and is part of the family owned Pewag Group that also supplies chains for industrial purposes such as tire protection and lifting gears.

For further information please contact:

Anders Pettersson, President and CEO, phone: +46 (0) 703 414150
Daniel Oelker, SVP Corporate Communication, phone: +46 (0)730 799004