Pressrelease

Hergiswil (Switzerland), September 1 2006

ALSO completes acquisition of Finnish GNT Group

The ALSO Group, which is active in wholesale and logistics services for information and communications technology products (ICT) as well as consumer electronics, completed the acquisition of a 50.1% stake in the share capital of the Finnish GNT Holding Oy on 31 August, 2006. The European Competition Authorities have approved the transaction. This acquisition will make ALSO the fourth-largest ICT distributor in Europe, with estimated net sales in 2007 of CHF 5.0 billion (EUR 3.2 billion). ALSO has an option to purchase the remaining 49,9% of the shares by 2010 at the latest.

Contact:
Thomas C. Weissmann, Chairman and CEO ALSO Holding AG, +41 41 266 18 02