direct/ Glitnir (IS) - Icelandair Group to be listed on the Icelandic Stock Exchange this year

MAIN POINTS

- Glitnir underwrites 51% share in Icelandair Group in the IPO process
- Enterprise value of Icelandair Group (100%) is ISK 43 billion (EUR 480 million).
- FL Group´s profit from the sale is estimated ISK 26.0 billion (EUR 290 million) based on total value of equity in Icelandair Group.
- All employees of Icelandair Group will have the opportunity to purchase shares in the company

According to an agreement between FL Group and, Glitnir, Glitnir will - after performing due diligence - underwrite and sell 51% of shares in Icelandair Group. Following the transaction Icelandair Group will no longer be a part of FL Group´s consolidated accounts. It is expected that this will be finalised around mid October and that Icelandair Group will be listed on the Iceland Stock Exchange before the end of this year.

Icelandair Group is a holding company with 12 service and trade companies in the airline, transportation and tourism industries. The Group has a staff of 2700, a turnover of 54 billion ISK (06 EST.) and focuses on 3 main areas: International Scheduled Airline Operations, Global Capacity Solutions and Aircraft Trading, and Tourism Infrastructure. The international airline, Icelandair, forms the backbone of the Group and it links Europe and the US through its hub in Iceland with scheduled flights to 22 destinations. Last year Icelandair carried 1,5 million passengers.

FL Group has previously announced its intentions to list Icelandair Group, but also maintained that it would be willing to hold on to a significant stake in the company. With the listing of Icelandair Group, FL Group´s shares in Icelandair Group will be reduced and the company may also do so prior to listing.
A public offering of shares in Icelandair Group will take place prior to the company´s listing. In the offering institutional investors and the general public will be able to subscribe for shares in Icelandair Group. Further details of the process will be revealed after due diligence is finalised.

Icelandair Group operations will continue on all levels as normal. Its strong management team will continue and the board of directors will stay the same. All 2700 employees will continue to be part of a strong, growing and leading company.

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Hannes Smarason, CEO of FL Group: "This agreement is outstanding for all parties involved and FL Group is realising a substantial profit from the sale of Icelandair Group. This transaction and the plans that are on the table create significant flexibility for further investments for FL Group. We have emphasised that Icelandair Group, the country´s most important transport company, and a leading international player in the airline industry, would be in public hands."

Bjarni Ármannsson, CEO of Glitnir, the leading Icelandic/Norwegian finance group, is equally delighted: "I´m very pleased with this agreement we have made with FL Group. Listing Icelandair Group is a very exciting task and we are looking forward to it. Icelandair is a very well run company with a strong position on the North Atlantic market and is the leading tourism company in Iceland. Tourism plays an increasingly important role in the Icelandic economy and Icelandair will be at the forefront of that development for the coming years."

Jon Didrik Jonsson, Managing Director of Investment Banking in Glitnir: "We are entirely convinced that there is great interest in Icelandair Group and its listing. Glitnir already has buyers for a large part of the share the bank underwrites, with the same conditions as the bank makes."

Jon Karl Olafsson, CEO of Icelandair Group: "The management of Icelandair Group supports the plan of listing the company on the Icelandic Stock Exchange and is looking forward to the opportunity such a listing offers. The aim for a listing is to bring a broad group of institutional and private investors to the company and strengthen the special bond the company has with the general public. I am also very pleased that all employees of the company will have the opportunity to purchase shares as part of the agreement between the Bank and FL Group."

FURTHER INFORMATION

Hannes Smarason,
CEO of FL Group
Tel.: +354 591 4400

Bjarni Ármannsson,
CEO of Glitnir
Tel.: +354 440 4005

Jon Karl Ólafsson,
CEO of Icelandair Group
Tel.: +354 5050-371

Jon Didrik Jonsson,
Managing Director of Glitnir´s Investment Banking
Tel.: +354 440-4747

Kristján Kristjánsson,
Director of Corporate Communication
Tel.: +354 899 9352
krikri@flgroup.is

Björn Richard Johansen
Managing Director
Corporate Communication
+47-47800100

ABOUT ICELANDAIR GROUP
Icelandair Group is a holding company with 12 service and trade companies in the airline, transportation and tourism industries. The Group has a staff of 2700, a turnover of 54 billion ISK (06 EST.) and focuses on 3 main areas: International Scheduled Airline Operations, Global Capacity Solutions and Aircraft Trading, and Tourism Infrastructure. The international airline, Icelandair, forms the backbone of the Group and it links Europe and the US through its hub in Iceland with scheduled flights to 22 destinations. Last year Icelandair carried 1,5 million passengers.


ABOUT FL GROUP
FL Group is an investment company, focusing on strategic and private equity investments as well as proprietary trading, with a particular emphasis on active participation in markets with listed securities. The Company focuses on influential investments in companies in Northern Europe on a broad basis. At end of June 2006 FL Group´s total assets amounted to ISK 202.6 billion. FL Group is listed on the Icelandic Stock Exchange (ICEX: FL).
The largest shareholders of FL Group are Eignarhaldsfélagið Oddaflug ehf. (19.8%), owned by Hannes Smárason, CEO; Baugur Group (18.1%), Magnús Kristinsson (14.7%); Kristinn Björnsson (8.4%); Icon (5.6%) and Materia Invest (5.1%). The shareholding can in some cases be in the name of Icelandic financial institutions because of forward contracts. www.flgroup.is


ABOUT GLITNIR
Glitnir is a leading financial group that offers universal banking and is a leading niche player in three global segments; seafood/food, sustainable energy, and offshore supply vessels. Services include retail, corporate and investment banking, stock trade and capital management. Glitnir is the sole owner of banks in Luxembourg (Glitnir Bank Luxembourg S.A) and Norway (BNbank and Glitnir bank, Glitnir Securities and Glitnir Kapitalforvaltning, the factoring company Glitnir Factoring, as well as 50.1 percent of Union Gruppen). Glitnir´s subsidiary BNbank in Norway recently entered into an agreement to acquire 45 per cent of the shares in Norsk Privatøkonomi ASA. Norsk Privatøkonomi ASA is an independent financial advisory company with 12 branches in key areas of Norway (governmental approval pending in Norway). Glitnir own the leading Swedish brokerage firm Fischer Partners. The bank has a branch in London and in Copenhagen, Denmark. Glitnir has an office in Halifax, Canada. Glitnir plans to open an office in Shanghai, China in 2006. Glitnir is listed on the Icelandic Stock Exchange. Glitnir recently announced record profits, with a return on equity of 45.5 percent for the first half year of 2006 - making second quarter 2006 the best ever in the bank´s history. For more information go to: www.glitnirbank.com in English, www.glitnir.is in Icelandic and www.glitnir.no in Norwegian.


Press release (PDF)
http://hugin.info/133924/R/1079125/186313.pdf



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