Aker Yards and ALSTOM Marine plan to join forces

The parties plan to establish a new company consisting of the
shipyards in Saint-Nazaire and Lorient. Aker Yards would own 75%
of this new company and ALSTOM would commit itself to keep the
remaining 25% until 2010.

The transaction would enable continuity in management and the
actions taken as part of the Marine 2010
performance improvement and cost reduction programme already
under implementation in ALSTOM Marine. The transaction would have
no direct impact on employment.

By being part of Aker Yards, the new company would benefit
from a broadened product range and strong industrial synergies.
Aker Yards has 13 yards in 5 countries in which it has
demonstrated its ability to implement synergies. It would be in a
position to address the strong growth which is expected in this
market.

The new company would benefit from a unique design competence,
combining the long tradition of French and Finnish cruise
shipbuilding, that has produced icons such as SS France, Queen
Mary 2, the Voyager class and the Freedom class ships. Aker Yards
would also be in a position to fully leverage Chantiers de
lAtlantique's large industrial capacity in cruise ships
and naval vessels in Saint-Nazaire. The shipyard is ideally
positioned to handle the construction of very large ships and is
able to respond to a cruise market which demands vessels of
ever-increasing size. 

Aker Yards would pay EUR 50 million for the 75% stake of the
new company. Depending on the financial performance, the
remaining 25% would be sold to Aker Yards for up to EUR 125
million in 2010. The new company would be adequately funded to
ensure the ability to independently finance its future growth. An
estimated amount of EUR 350 million would be injected by ALSTOM
into the newly formed company. This amount would notably cover
the anticipated increase in working capital requirements from the
current negative situation to an average of EUR 100 million for
the new company.

This transaction would increase ALSTOMs indebtedness by
up to EUR 300 million. It would impact the ALSTOM Group
consolidated accounts with a loss of up to EUR 100 million.

The proposed transaction would be subject to a number of
conditions, including finalization of the agreement between the
parties, the effective setting-up of the new company, the
requisite financing for the new companys activities, the
authorization of the European authorities, the information /
consultation of the work councils, confirmatory due diligence and
other relevant conditions. It is expected to be concluded by the
end of March 2006.

Patrick Kron, Chairman and CEO of ALSTOM, said:
Putting together Aker Yards and ALSTOM Marine would create a
champion on the market of high-valued ships, notably of cruise
ships. We would be proud to be part of its development in the
coming years. As for ALSTOM, the group would remain with a sound
balance sheet after the transaction. Our operational targets
would remain unchanged, while the net income target for March
2006 would be adjusted accordingly.

Karl Erik Kjelstad, President & CEO of Aker Yards states
in a comment:
By joining the forces of Chantiers de lAtlantique and
Aker Yards, we can create a unique position in the shipbuilding
industry, ready to meet the ever increasing needs of tomorrow's
demanding cruise passengers.

Patrick Boissier, President of ALSTOM Marine, declared «
The yard in Saint-Nazaire has a long tradition in building
complex and specialized vessels, with state of the art
technology, modern facilities and a very competent staff. I do
believe that a strong and fruitful combination between Chantiers
de lAtlantique and Aker Yards can be
achieved.

For further information, please contact:

ALSTOM


S. Gagneraud / G. Tourvieille, Press relations,


+33 1 41 49 27 40
press@chq.alstom.com

Emmanuelle Châtelain, Investor Relations,


+33 1 41 49 37 38
investor.relations@chq.alstom.com

AKER YARDS


Tore Langballe, SVP Corporate Communications and IR


+47 24 13 01 30

 


Aker Yards ASA is an international shipbuilding group focusing on
sophisticated vessels and is one of the world's five largest
shipbuilders. The group has a strong position both in terms of
innovation, product range, technology, experience and capacity.
The product range includes cruise vessels and ferries, merchant
vessels, offshore and specialized vessels. Aker Yards, with a
turnover of EUR 1495 million in 2004, comprises 13 yards in
Norway, Finland, Germany, Romania and Brazil, and has
approximately 13000 employees.
www.akeryards.com

Chantiers de lAtlantique, one of Europes biggest
shipyards, has been brought to the worlds attention as the
birthplace of Cunards new ocean liner, Queen Mary 2.
QM2 has been the 111th passenger ship built here,
as the yard has been in activity since the early 1860s.
Many famous liners sailing for French companies have been built
in Saint-Nazaire since the 19th century, including  Ile de
France, Normandie, France and many more. The ALSTOM
businesses included in the transaction employ a total workforce
of app. 3000  people ; the existing order backlog consists
of four cruise ships, one large motor yacht and two smaller ships
for delivery between 2006 and 2009, representing a total of app.
EUR 1.8 billion.
http://www.marine.alstom.com

ALSTOM is a global leader in the world of power generation and
rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and
environmentally friendly technologies. ALSTOM builds the fastest
train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, and
provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated
services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro,
gas and coal. The Group employs 69,000 people in 70 countries,
and had orders of EUR 15.8 billion in 2004/05.
http://www.wcm.alstom.com

 


Disclaimer


This press release includes and is based, inter alia, on
forward-looking information and statements that are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ. Such forward-looking information and statements are based
on current expectations, estimates and projections about global
economic conditions, the economic conditions of the regions and
industries that are major markets for Chantiers de
lAtlantique, Aker Yards ASA and its subsidiaries and
affiliates (the "Aker Yards Group") lines of business. These
expectations, estimates, and projections are generally
identifiable by statements containing words such as
"expects, "believes, "estimates" or similar
expressions. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expectations include, among others,
economic and market conditions in the geographic areas and
industries that are or will be major markets for the Chantiers de
lAtlantiques and  Aker Yards Groups
businesses, oil prices, market acceptance of new products and
services, changes in governmental regulations, interest rates,
fluctuations in currency exchange rates and such other factors as
may be discussed from time to time. Although ALSTOM and Aker
Yards ASA believe that their expectations and the information in
this Press release were based upon reasonable assumptions at the
time when they were made, they can give no assurance that those
expectations will be achieved or that the actual results will be
as set out in this Press release. Neither ALSTOM nor Aker Yards
ASA nor any other company within their respective Groups is
making any representation or warranty, expressed or implied, as
to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information
in the Press release, and neither ALSTOM, Aker Yards ASA, any
other company within their respective Groups nor any of their
directors, officers or employees will have any liability to you
or any other persons resulting from your use of the information
in the Press release.

Neither ALSTOM nor Aker Yards ASA undertakes any obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking information or
statements in the press release, other than as required by
law.

The Aker Yards Group consists of many legally independent
entities, constituting their own separate identities. Aker Yards
is used as the common brand or trade mark for most of these
entities. In this press release we may sometimes use "Aker
Yards," "Group, "we," or "us," when we refer to Aker Yards
companies in general or where no useful purpose is served by
identifying any particular Aker Yards company.

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