Investor AB, Annual General Meeting: SEK 18 Billion Invested in 1999 Evaluation of Over 1,500 Prospective Investments

Business Wire, March 28, 2000

Business Editors

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 2000

Investor AB, Sweden's largest industrial holding company, today held its Annual General Meeting.

"During 1999 we invested SEK 18 billion in old and new holdings. We analyzed and considered over 1,500 prospective investments during the past year, and from these we chose and invested in companies we believe to have the potential to succeed," Investor's President and CEO, Marcus Wallenberg, said in his speech at the Annual General Meeting.

In January 2000 there were over 100 holdings in the Investor portfolio. Since then, Investor has made 15 additional investments in growth sectors, including IT, telecom, healthcare and education.

In his speech, Wallenberg focused on the efforts to find new investments and to transform existing holdings. He also explained the return requirements Investor seeks.

Wallenberg stressed Investor's business philosophy -- to develop top-quality companies in growth industries, through active ownership.

"The modernization of the economy is not only a question of new start-ups. The transformation of existing companies is also of equal importance, and the challenge is to combine the strengths of traditional companies -- stable organizations, well-known and established brands, strong cash flows -- with the opportunities provided by new technology," he pointed out.

To illustrate how Investor builds a bridge between the old and the new economies, Wallenberg pinpointed Internet ventures in SEB, SKF and OM Gruppen, as well as Investor's own recently started b-business partners -- where Investor, together with ABB, SEB and seven other companies, started Europe's largest venture capital company for B2B e-commerce.

He also reiterated his satisfaction with the solution reached with Volkswagen, with regards to Scania.

"With yesterday's agreement reached with Volkswagen, Scania remains a listed company and Sodertalje remains a center for heavy trucks. Investor receives SEK 13.8 billion, and the solution thus takes into account, the interests of both Scania's employees and Investor's shareholders," he said.

In his speech, Wallenberg further explained the return requirements Investor works with. The return requirement for core holdings is a risk-free rate, plus five percent. For new investments -- where the risk is higher and the investments are often not liquid -- there is a return requirement of at least 20-25%.

Regarding Investor's role for the future, Wallenberg said: "Our business philosophy -- to create long-term growth in our holdings through active ownership -- has served us well in the past. I am convinced it will serve us well in the future, too. We have the knowledge, the experience and the capital to attract the leading companies and entrepreneurs of tomorrow."

Investor AB is the largest Swedish industrial holding company. It generates value for the shareholders through long-term active ownership and active investment operations. Over the past 20 years the average total annual return to the shareholders has exceeded 20%.

Investor AB is a lead shareholder in a number of Sweden's largest, most internationally active companies. These include AstraZeneca, Ericsson, Scania, ABB, Gambro, Stora Enso, Atlas Copco, SEB, WM-data, Electrolux, Saab AB, Saab Automobile AB (50%), SKF, SAS and OM Gruppen. Investor's largest shareholders are the Wallenberg family foundations and a number of mutual and pension funds.

Investor AB is based in Stockholm, with offices in Hong Kong, London and New York and Amsterdam. Investor AB press releases can be accessed at www.investor.se on the Internet.