AAK divests its shares in BSP Pharma A/S

8/18/2006 8:04 AM EST

AAK has as of today divested all its shares in the Danish company BSP Pharma A/S, jointly owned with Astion Pharma A/S. Purchaser of AAK´s shares, equivalent to 70,7 per cent of the share capital of BSP Pharma A/S, is the Danish venture capitalist Innoventure A/S. The divestment is considered to have insignificant impact on the AAK Group´s net sales earnings and its financial position.

BSP Pharma A/S develops and markets patent protected anti-inflammatory products with high demands on documentation, safety and efficiency. BSP Pharma A/S has until today been operated within the AAK Group´s segment "Other Business".

In continuation of the sale, AAK and BSP Pharma A/S have entered into a long-term supply agreement on highly processed vegetable specialty fats based upon AAK´s unique knowledge on the application of the qualities and possibilities of the fat molecule.

- The divestment of BSP Pharma A/S as well as the long-term supply agreement entered into between BSP Pharma A/S and AAK is perfectly in line with our company strategy to reach an efficient use of capital and to create strong positions on the global market for highly processed specialty fats, says Jerker Hartwall, CEO of AAK.

For further information please contact:

Jerker Hartwall, President and CEO of AarhusKarlshamn AB, telephone: +46 454 82603, e-mail:  

Anders Byström, Vice President and CFO of AarhusKarlshamn AB,
telephone: +46 454 82613, mobil: +46 709 885613, e-mail:  

Jan Fogh, Chairman of the Board of BSP Pharma A/S, telephone: +45 48 104080

For further information on AAK, please visit AAK´s homepage: www.aak.com