ALSO submits tender offer for ABC Data S.A., the Polish leader of IT equipment and consumer electronics distribution Freitag, 21. Dezember 2018 - 17:01

ALSO Holding AG / Key word(s): Offer
ALSO submits tender offer for ABC Data S.A., the Polish leader of IT
equipment and consumer electronics distribution

21-Dec-2018 / 17:00 CET/CEST
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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     Media Release
ALSO submits tender offer for ABC Data S.A., the Polish leader of IT
equipment and consumer electronics distribution

  * ALSO Holding AG submits, together with the majority shareholder of the
    Polish company ABC Data S.A., a tender offer for ABC Data S.A. Following
    the completion of the offer and the approval of the regulatory
    authorities, ALSO Holding AG will take over the entire business
    operations of ABC Data S.A.

  * ABC Data S.A. operates in six Eastern European countries and generated
    sales of

  * PLN 4 635 million (EUR 1 080 million) in 2017. ALSO Holding AG is
    strengthening its market position in Eastern Europe.

  * That will enable the company to develop the solution and service
    business in line with its strategy.


ALSO Holding AG, one of the leading providers of ICT distribution, solutions
and services in Europe, has signed an agreement with MCI Euroventures, the
majority shareholder of the Polish company ABC Data S.A., to make a joint
tender offer for all publicly held shares of ABC Data S.A., listed on the
Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The objective of the tender offer is to acquire 100% of ABC Data's shares,
60.7% of which are already indirectly held by MCI Euroventures. Subject to
the completion of the offer and the approval of the regulatory authorities,
ALSO Holding AG will take over and continue the entire business operations
of ABC Data S.A. The tender offer is subject to the approval of the
regulatory authorities.

The takeover of the business operations of ABC Data S.A. and the closing of
ranks with the existing business in Poland will create the leader of IT
equipment and consumer electronics distribution in the Polish market. In
addition, the ALSO Group strengthens its existing business in Lithuania and
will be present in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary. With
the existing activities of ABC Data S.A. in the area of integrated IT
solutions ALSO Holding AG aims to expand its highermargin solutions
business. With the ABC Data platform, the company will also be able to offer
its customers consumption-based IT-as-a-service via the cloud through the
ALSO Cloud Marketplace (ACMP).

Gustavo Möller-Hergt, CEO of ALSO Holding AG, commented: "Part of ALSO's
strategy is to strengthen its market position in markets where it does not
have a dominant position. In addition, we have a clear intention to further
develop the traditional transactional business, to increase the sales share
of the Solutions business and to enable the highly attractive consumptional
business with the ALSO Cloud Marketplace. The acquisition of ABC Data S.A.
meets our strategical criteria. We will become the number one in Poland and
a leading market player in five other Eastern European countries. The
transaction is an important milestone in the implementation of our growth
plans".

Direct link to the media release: https://www.also.com/goto/20181221en/


Contacts:
For investors and financial media:
Alexandre Müller & Thomas Balmer, Dynamics Group
+41 43 2683232
investor-relations@also.com

For other media:
Manuela Rost-Hein, Ketchum Pleon GmbH
+49 211 9541 2160
also.press@ketchumpleon.com

ALSO Holding AG (ALSN.SW) (Emmen/Switzerland) brings providers and buyers of
the ICT industry together. The company offers services at all levels of the
ICT value chain from a single source. In the European B2B marketplace, ALSO
bundles logistics services, financial services, supply services, solution
services, digital services, and IT services together into individual service
packages. ALSO's portfolio contains more than 250 000 articles from some 525
vendors. The Group has
4 058 employees throughout Europe. In fiscal year 2017 (closing on December
31), the company generated net sales of 8.9 billion euros. The majority
shareholder of ALSO Holding AG is the Droege Group, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Further information is available at http://www.also.com

Droege Group
Droege Group (founded in 1988) is an independent advisory and investment
company under full family ownership. The company acts as a specialist for
tailor-made transformation programs aiming to enhance corporate value.
Droege Group combines its corporate family-run structure and capital
strength into a family-equity business model. The group carries out direct
investments with its own equity in corporate spin-offs and medium-sized
companies in "special situations". With the guiding principle "execution -
following the rules of art", the group is a pioneer in execution-oriented
corporate development. Droege Group follows a focused investment strategy
based on current megatrends (knowledge, connectivity, prevention,
demography, specialization, future work, shopping 4.0). Enthusiasm for
quality, innovation and speed determines the company's actions. In recent
years Droege Group has successfully positioned itself in domestic and
international markets and operates in 30 countries. More information:
https://www.droege-group.com

Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on
current assumptions and forecasts of the ALSO management. Known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences
between the forward-looking statements made here and the actual development,
in particular the results, financial situation, and performance of our
Group. The Group accepts no responsibility for updating these
forward-looking statements or adapting them to future events or
developments.


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