Acquisition of Maquet approved by the German competition authorities

Acquisition of Maquet approved by the German competition authorities The acquisition of the shares of the German group Maquet AG, a subsidiary of RWE AG (Rheinisch Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk) which was announced by Getinge on 17 November 2000, was conditional upon approval by the German competition authorities and formal approval by RWE's board of directors. Today Getinge Industrier announces that the acquisition has been approved both by the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) and the board of directors of RWE. The two conditions for the acquisition have thus been fulfilled. Maquet is the world leader in surgical tables with a 30% share of the world market and with a well established brand name, synonymous with innovative strength and quality for more than a century. Maquet will make up the foundation of Getinge's new business area Surgical Systems. Getinge, 12 December 2000 Johan Malmquist President and CEO Getinge Industrier is a medical-technical Group and a world leader in the fields of health care, the pharmaceutical industry and laboratories, as well as hygiene, lifting and antidecubitus systems for hospitals and extended care. In 1999, before the acquisition of the shares of7 Maquet, the Getinge Group had sales of SEK 4.885 million and 3,800 employees. GETINGE INDUSTRIER AB (publ.) Phone +46 35 15 55 00 VAT No SE556408503201 P.O. Box 69 Fax +46 35 549 52 Org.No. 556408-5032 SE-310 44 GETINGE www.getinge.com Registered office: Halmstad Sweden ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/12/12/20001212BIT00570/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/12/12/20001212BIT00570/bit0002.pdf