Ratos has signed an agreement on the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary Bluegarden to Multidata - Denmark's leading supplier of payroll services to the private sector. The sales amount is approximately SEK 290m, which will provide Ratos with an exit gain of approximately SEK 160m. During the holding period Bluegarden developed from being a local Norwegian provider of IT-based HRM services to a Scandinavian partner to major customers within both the private and public sectors, focusing on digital services and BPO services (Business Process Outsourcing). Bluegarden and Multidata signed a co-operation agreement back in 2004 for joint development and sales of web-based solutions for payroll administration and human resources planning. In 2004 Bluegarden acquired the Swedish company PA Konsult which has seen strong growth in recent years due to new contracts with customers such as If, Svenska Spel, Korsnäs and Perstorp. Ratos CEO Arne Karlsson: "Bluegarden has managed to create a Scandinavian foothold. The industry is currently undergoing consolidation and our assessment is that Bluegarden's and Multidata's opportunities for continued growth will improve as a result of today's merger." Today's deal will generate an exit gain for Ratos of approximately SEK 160m. The average annual return (IRR) on the investment is estimated to amount to approximately 6%. For further information, please contact: Arne Karlsson, President and CEO Ratos, +46 8 700 17 43 Anna-Karin Celsing, Head of Corporate Communications Ratos, +46 703 99 62 39 Financial calendar from Ratos: Interim report January-June 21 August 2007 Interim report January-September 9 November 2007 Ratos is a listed private equity company. The business concept is to maximise shareholder value over time by investing in, developing and divesting primarily unlisted companies. Ratos thus offers stock market players a unique investment opportunity. The equity of Ratos's investments is approximately SEK 11 billion. Ratos's holdings include Anticimex, Arcus Gruppen, Bisnode, Bluegarden, Camfil, DIAB, GS-Hydro, Haendig, Haglöfs, HL Display, HÅG/RH/RBM, Hägglunds Drives, Inwido, Jøtul, Lindab, MCC, Medifiq Healthcare, Superfos and Other holdings.