Corporate | 16 September 2009 08:51
ARAGON AG / Miscellaneous 16.09.2009 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Purchase agreement for the planned acquisition of MLP Austria signed - Entry in Austrian retail sales market In early August this year, Aragon AG came to an agreement with MLP for the acquisition of MLP's international business unit based in Austria, MLP Finanzdienstleistungen AG, Vienna. The parties have now signed the relevant purchase agreement. The transaction remains subject to approval by the competition authorities and the Austrian financial market authority. The purchase price, which will be finalised after completion of all valuation checks, is expected to range between EUR 2.5m and EUR 5m, and will be payable over a period of several years. At the same time, restructuring provisions are made available by MLP AG, which will be used to pay for the restructuring of MLP Austria. Concerning the transaction Aragon was advised by Silvia Quandt & Cie.AG, Frankfurt. With the acquisition of MLP in Austria, which has been represented there since 1995 with a team of 59 advisers servicing more than 15,000 customers, ARAGON is consistently pursuing the expansion of its Financial Consulting division, created earlier this year to provide consultancy services for retail customers. As of 31 December 2008, MLP Austria reported assets under management totalling EUR 81.8m, and the company achieved sales of EUR 8.3m in financial year 2008. Dr. Sebastian Grabmaier, CEO of Aragon AG, commented: 'After signing the letter of intent at the start of August, we had the opportunity of extensively discussing with the advisers from MLP Austria how the future business model should be shaped. We are confident that Aragon's cost-effective transaction processing coupled with the high-quality consulting approach used by MLP's advisers will result in a sustainable and, above all, profitable business unit. We are therefore delighted that the purchase agreement has now been signed.' About Aragon AG Aragon AG is a broadly diversified financial services company, with the divisions: Broker Pools, Financial Consulting, Institutional Sales and Holding (incl. Banking & Banking Services). Aragon is active in the marketplace with multiple independent subsidiaries. The company's aim is to integrate various distribution models under one roof, without disturbing the individual identity of each sales company. The result is a wide diversification across various asset classes and distribution types, which generates a high stability in corporate earnings. Further information about the company and its subsidiaries can be viewed on the website: www.aragon.ag. Contact: Aragon Aktiengesellschaft Ralf Funke Investor Relations Tel.: +49(0)611 890 575-0 Fax: +49(0)611 890 575-99 E-Mail: ir@aragon.ag 16.09.2009 Financial News transmitted by DGAP ---------------------------------------------------------------------------