Ad-hoc | 28 July 2006 08:29

METRO AG: METRO AG acquires Wal-Mart Germany

Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Düsseldorf, 28 July 2006 – METRO AG, Düsseldorf/Germany, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Bentonville/Arkansas, decided last night that METRO AG will take over the German operations of the US retailer. The transaction comprises 85 hypermarket stores, of which 19 locations are held by freehold and the remaining ones by leasehold. In 2005 the operation generated sales of around € 2 billion. The transaction enables an ideal extension of the current store network operated by METRO Group’s hypermarket business Real. With the integration into the group-wide procurement, logistics and administration infrastructure, METRO Group expects to realize significant synergy effects. The transaction is not included in the METRO Group sales and earnings outlook for 2006. In 2006 the company will derive a one-off positive earnings effect. The transaction remains subject to approval by the anti-trust authorities. (c)DGAP 28.07.2006 ————————————————————————— Language: English Issuer: METRO AG Schlüterstr. 1 40235 Düsseldorf Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)211 6886-1936 Fax: +49 (0)211 6886-3759 E-mail: investorrelations@metro.de WWW: www.metrogroup.de ISIN: DE0007257503, DE0007257537 WKN: 725750, 725753 Indices: DAX Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Düsseldorf, SWX; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Hannover, München, Hamburg, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service —————————————————————————