EGM Statement

Kingfisher PLC 7 June 2002 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE KINGFISHER PLC June 7th 2002 EGM APPROVAL OF OFFER FOR CASTORAMA MINORITIES AT €67 PER SHARE AND ASSOCIATED RIGHTS ISSUE Kingfisher received shareholder approval at its Extraordinary General Meeting today for its proposed purchase of the 44.5% minority interest in Castorama Dubois Investissements SCA (' Castorama') that it does not already own. Subject to the receipt of a satisfactory fairness opinion (certificat d'equite), and the necessary regulatory approvals, the minority shareholders will be offered €67 per share, valuing the minority interests of Castorama at £3.2 billion. Also approved at the EGM was the increase in Kingfisher's authorised share capital required for the proposed £2.0 billion rights issue with which Kingfisher intends to part-fund the acquisition. The remainder of the purchase consideration will be met out of new bank debt facilities. The EGM resolutions, both passed by overwhelming majorities, followed confirmation by the Paris Commercial Court (Tribunal de Paris) that Rothschild et Cie has been formally appointed as the independent investment bank responsible for delivering a fairness opinion in respect of the proposed offer price of €67 per share. We anticipate the fairness opinion being delivered by early July. Before proceeding formally to launch its offer, Kingfisher is required to obtain: • a satisfactory fairness opinion on the price offered by Kingfisher; • clearance by the competition authorities; and • the approval of the offer by the French stock market authorities (Conseil des marches financiers). Accordingly, Kingfisher now expects that, subject to receipt of a satisfactory opinion on the price offered by Kingfisher and the necessary regulatory clearances, it will be able to make a formal offer to Castorama's minority shareholders during August. Francis Mackay, Chairman of Kingfisher, said: 'The Board considers €67 per share to be a full and fair price and we believe this has been supported by the market's reaction to the offer. The offer represents a premium of 20% over the Castorama share price prior to the onset of current speculation and particularly when taking into account the substantial premium paid for co-control in 1998.' Commenting on objections to the current offer that have been raised by the A Commandites, and alternative proposals by them to restructure Castorama via a demerger, Mr Mackay said: 'It is important to remember that the A Commandites are not in a position to claim they represent the views of all Castorama minority shareholders. In addition, the alternatives to Kingfisher's cash offer which they have proposed to our largest shareholders are clearly unacceptable. We are pleased that our shareholders have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposed cash offer.' Francis Mackay added that the process now underway was agreed in 1998 by the A Commandites and Castorama shareholders. He considered it 'unfortunate that the A Commandites had chosen to engage in tactics aimed at delaying or frustrating the offer being put to Castorama's minority shareholders. The uncertainty caused was not in the interests of the business, employees or shareholders.' He concluded: 'It is clearly important that we remove this uncertainty as soon as possible so that everybody can concentrate fully on realising the tremendous potential within Europe's leading home improvement retailer.' - ends - Company profile 1. Kingfisher is Europe's leading home improvement retailer, and is ranked number three in the world. The company operates more than 580 home improvement stores in 11 countries, and enjoys market-leading positions in the UK, France and Taiwan. Sales for the Home Improvement sector for the year to 2 February 2002 were more than £5.8 billion, with retail profit in excess of £430 million. 2. Kingfisher Electrical & Furniture operates more than 820 stores in nine countries. It is Europe's third largest electricals retailing business by sales and number two by retail profit. As well as holding the leading position in France and the number two position in the UK, Kingfisher also enjoys leading positions in Belgium and in the Czech and Slovak Republics. Sales for the year to 2 February 2002 were more than £3.7 billion, with retail profit of £184 million. Further Enquiries: Broker and Institutional Enquiries Ian Harding, Director of Investor Relations +44 (0) 207 725 4889 Media Enquiries: Andrew Mills, Director of Corporate Affairs +44 (0) 207 725 5776 Jonathan Miller, Head of Corporate Comms, UK +44 (0) 207 725 5713 France Graham Fairbank, Head of Corporate Comms. +33 (0)1 43 18 52 26 The Maitland Consultancy +44 (0) 207 379 5151 Angus Maitland Duncan Campbell-Smith Euro RCSG C&O Laurent Wormser +33 (0)1 41 34 40 70 Marie-Noelle Brouaux +33 (0)1 41 34 34 73 Goldman Sachs International +44 (0) 207 774 1000 Yoel Zaoui Robin Bishop BNP Paribas Thierry Varene +33 (0)1 42 98 17 27 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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