Sapa to strengthen North American business - in...

Today Sapa entered into an asset purchase agreement with US aluminium
extrusion company Indalex for the possible purchase of substantially
all of Indalex's assets in the US and Canada.


Under the agreement, Sapa would acquire Indalex's ten active plants
in the US (6) and Canada (4), with 29 presses and a total capacity of
about 315,000 tonnes per year. Indalex's sales in 2008 were about
200,000 tonnes which represented sales of just above 900 MUSD.
Indalex has about 1,400 employees.

The planned purchase represents an underlying enterprise value of
approximately 95 MUSD for the business.

The transaction would allow Sapa to improve its geographical presence
in North America, including an introduction into the Canadian region.
Also, Sapa would be better positioned to service customers through
improved painting, anodising and fabrication capabilities. In
addition, Sapa would be able to optimize customer value through the
combined knowledge, experience and technical competence of the two
companies. The combination has a significant potential of realising
cost synergies through plant restructuring and cost improvements in
procurement, logistics and shared services. The new company would
have the ability to further develop new end use applications in North
America, benefitting the customers and the extrusion industry as a
whole.

President and CEO of Sapa, Bjørn Wiggen says in a comment: "I
appreciate this opportunity to include Indalex in our North American
operation. The new combined unit will reflect the strengths of both
organizations and represent a possibility to serve the customers even
better. By optimizing the broad experience and technical knowledge in
the two companies we will be able to bring new solutions to the
market sooner."

"The agreement demonstrates Orkla's and Sapa's commitment to the
North American extrusion market. Indalex is an excellent company with
a long history in the industry. Combining the two companies will
provide a wider product range and better geographic coverage than
either company has alone. We will be able to offer our customers a
range of products and services that is truly unique," says Jack
Miller, Business Area President Sapa Profiles North America.

Tim Stubbs, President and CEO, Indalex, said: "This would be a
natural fit for both companies. Our customer-focused operating
strategies match well and the long-standing commitment to the
extrusion industry through investment and modernization are mutual.
The strengths of both companies will fit well to provide our
customers with unmatched capacity, capabilities and commitment."

The agreement signed in New York is part of a motion filed with the
bankruptcy court in Delaware, along with sale and bid procedures,
pursuant to Section 363 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The
motion is scheduled to be heard on July 2, at which time Sapa is
expected to be selected as the "stalking horse" bidder. In the event
that competitive bids are received from other qualified bidders, a
bankruptcy auction will be held around July 16, 2009. Final approval
of Sapa's agreement or the auction outcome is expected by the end of
July.

For further information, please contact Bjørn Wiggen, President and
CEO Sapa, telephone [phone] or Marius Grønningsaeter, SVP
Corporate Business, telephone: [phone].


About Indalex Holdings Finance, Inc. and Indalex Holding Corp.
Indalex Holding Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indalex Holdings
Finance, Inc., through its operating subsidiaries Indalex Inc. and
Indalex Ltd., with headquarters in Lincolnshire, Illinois, is the
second largest producer of soft alloy extrusion products in North
America. The company`s aluminium extrusion products are widely used
throughout industrial, commercial and residential applications and
are customized to meet specific end-user requirements.
Indalex operates 10 extrusion facilities, 29 extrusion presses with
circle sizes up to 20 inches, a variety of fabrication and close
tolerance capabilities, two anodizing operations, two billet casting
facilities, and six electrostatic paint lines, including powder coat
capability.

About Sapa Holding AB
Sapa is the largest aluminium profiles producer in the world. The
Sapa Group develops, manufactures and markets value-added profiles,
profile-based building systems and heat exchanger strip in the
light-weight material aluminium. Sapa is divided in the business
areas Sapa Profiles, Sapa Building System and Sapa Heat Transfer and
is represented in Europe, North America and Asia. The business
concept is built on close cooperation with customers. Sapa is the
leading company in its field of operation and have customers in the
building, transport-, engineering,  telecom and home and office
industry. The Sapa Group has combined net sales of 32,500 MSEK and
12,000 employees. Sapa is part of Norwegian Orkla ASA. Further
information can be found on the web site: www.sapagroup.com


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