New partnership for MAN Ferrostaal

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- MAN Group cooperates with IPIC from Abu Dhabi
- IPIC takes over 70 % of the shares of MAN Ferrostaal AG
- New shareholder facilitates further growth and market access for future technologies

Effective from January 1, 2008, MAN AG is selling 70 % of its shares of MAN Ferrostaal AG, Essen, to International Petroleum Investment Com-pany (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi. MAN remains a shareholder maintaining 30 %. A letter of intent was signed accordingly. The governing bodies of MAN and IPIC have agreed to this step. It has been consented not to disclose details of the agreement prior to the close of the contract. The objective of the partnership is to realise potential for growth and to open up market potential for MAN Ferrostaal in the area of future technologies. IPIC intends to award contracts for large industrial projects to MAN Ferrostaal and is in the position to open up market access for the company in the field of new technologies. With this step, MAN is now sustainably concentrating on the manufacturing business areas in Transport-Related Engineering. This focus improves the conditions for sustainable growth in all areas.

IPIC pursues a strategy of long-term investment in the petrochemical sector and related industries outside Abu Dhabi. Up to now, IPIC has invested predominantly in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Asia. The concept of IPIC is to act as a long term investor. From 1984, when the company was founded until today, IPIC has kept all its industrial participations. The company operates mainly in the areas of oil processing, petrochemicals, pipelines, power stations and energy-intensive industries - all sectors in which MAN Ferrostaal excels. Solar energy and biofuels are also an important sector of the partnership. MAN Ferrostaal will be run as an independent company, keeping its present structure and with the management remaining in place.

The Chief Executive Officer of MAN AG, Håkan Samuelsson, sees the prospect of IPIC involvement as a growth driver for MAN Ferrostaal: "The proposed partnership with IPIC will open up new opportunities for growth for MAN Ferrostaal in plant construction and important markets of the future such as solar energy and biofuels. IPIC is the ideal partner to make full use of the outstanding expertise and worldwide network of MAN Ferrostaal for joint projects. Additionally, we are pursuing further partnerships with IPIC in the economically important region Middle East. MAN will sustainably be concentrating its efforts on the manufacturing business areas in the field of Transport-Related Engineering. The MAN Group has reached a future oriented and stable structure and is focused enough to develop all areas as core businesses. With this step, the focusing process of the MAN Group, initiated in 2005, has been finalised."

His Excellency Khadem A. Al Qubaisi, Managing Director of IPIC, expressed his satisfaction concerning the perfect fit that MAN Ferrostaal provides for IPIC's strategic goals: "We wish to invest in MAN Ferrostaal because we expect to derive considerable benefit from the technical and industrial expertise they will bring to our core sectors. By taking a major shareholding in MAN Ferrostaal, we would continue to build up our own portfolio in a logical fashion. An important component of this portfolio is renewables in which MAN Ferrostaal can play a key role and through which we intend to strengthen our hand in technologies of the future. Besides, there are many commonalities with other member companies in our portfolio. This too considerably boosts our business potential."

Dr. Matthias Mitscherlich, CEO at MAN Ferrostaal AG and Member of the Executive Board at MAN AG, welcomes the prospect of new ownership and cooperation with IPIC with great expectations: "IPIC's involvement as main shareholder of our company permits us to move forward towards new horizons, because our main shareholder would also to a great extent be our customer. We are able not only to support IPIC in the development and implementation of their projects but also to bring to bear our considerable expertise as a general contractor in EPC projects (Engineering - Procurement - Construction)."