A private equity fund, EQT Scandinavia II, has signed an agreement with Nokia to acquire the business of Salcomp Oy for an initial purchase price of approximately EUR 140 million and an additional price of approximately EUR 13 million to be paid later based on the success of the company. The agreement is subject to the approval of relevant anti trust authorities and is expected to be completed once the required approvals have been received. In August, Nokia announced plans to divest its Salcomp subsidiary, as Nokia will continue to focus on its core business areas - telecommunications and Internet technologies.

Salcomp is one of the world's largest manufacturers of mobile phone battery chargers. Following the change in ownership, Salcomp will have good opportunities to further develop its partnership with telecommunications companies. The contract signed with EQT Scandinavia II does not affect the terms of employment for Salcomp personnel. In Finland, Salcomp has approximately 600 employees in Kemijärvi and Salo. Sales offices are located in Hong Kong, China, and in Irving, Texas, and company contract manufacturing is based in China and Mexico. In 1998, Salcomp's net sales totaled EUR 140 million.

EQT is a group of private equity funds with equity commitments totalling SEK 11 billion. EQT's Finnish investments to date include Perlos, Vaasan & Vaasan and ADR-Haanpää. EQT Partners, acting as an investment advisor to all funds, has offices in Stockholm, Sweden, Helsinki, Finland and Copenhagen, Denmark. EQT realizes its business concept by acquiring medium-sized companies in the Nordic countries and serving as an active owner in close co-operation with the management of the companies acquired.

Further information:

Mr. Claes Dahlbäck
Chairman of EQT Scandinavia B.V., Amsterdam
Tel. +31-6-51 50 45 85

Mr. Juhani Mikola, Partner, EQT Partners (Investment Adviser to the EQT funds)
Tel. +358-40-519 4512

Mr. Kari Vuorialho, General Manager, Salcomp
Tel. +358-16-875 600

Mr. Jyrki Rosenberg, Communications Manager
Nokia Communications Products
Tel. +358-9-511 62127