Corporate | 13 October 2008 10:00
AURELIUS AG / Disposal Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- • Sale of 15 percent to French Laser-Cofinoga Group • Purchase price is about 12 million euros • Sale will result in significant extraordinary gains in fourth quarter. Munich, October 13, 2008 – The Munich industrial holding AURELIUS has successfully sold a share in its interest in the French bank Compagnie de Gestion et des Prêts (CDGP). The purchaser of the share amounting to 15 percent is LaSer Cofinoga, a subsidiary of the biggest French banking group, BNP Paribas. The purchase price for the holding is about 12 million euros. This results in a current market value for CDGP of 80 million euros in total. CDGP is a subsidiary of the Quelle France Group, which AURELIUS bought in July 2007 from Arcandor. Founded in 1977 as a company bank to handle installment payments, the company has in recent years developed into a national specialist for consumer loans. Today CDGP has a regular customer base of 250,000 active customers and a balance sheet total of over 400 million euros. Following the sale of the KWE Group in August, the transaction represents the second exit of the industrial holding AURELIUS in the current financial year. 'The fact that we managed to keep CDGP away from the current issues in the banking sector makes the company especially attractive for others,' explains Dr. Dirk Markus, CEO of AURELIUS. 'For AURELIUS, the sale means significant extraordinary gains in the current quarter.' The management board expects distinct earnings growth compared to last year for the third quarter, on whose development AURELIUS will report at the end of November. The reasons for this, apart from the positive course of business operations, are benefits from company acquisitions, above all the takeover of Berentzen-Gruppe AG in July. For further information on AURELIUS please contact: Ingo Middelmenne Investor Relations & Corporate Communications Phone +49 (89) 544799 - 56 Fax +49 (89) 544799 - 55 ingo.middelmenne@aureliusinvest.de About AURELIUS AG AURELIUS AG based in Munich, Germany, is a Frankfurt stock exchange listed industrial holding company. AURELIUS acquires and actively develops medium-sized companies and business units that no longer belong to the core business of their previous owners. These include corporate spin-offs and divestitures, as well as companies with operational improvement potential. Through its operational in-house team, AURELIUS enhances the value of its portfolio companies to the benefit of all stakeholders taking into account corporate and social responsibility. The shares of AURELIUS AG are traded on the open market of the Frankfurt stock exchange (ISIN: DE000A0JK2A8). 13.10.2008 Financial News transmitted by DGAP ----------------------------------------------------------------------