ASSA ABLOY has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire the lock division of Williams PLC.

Business Editors

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 7, 2000

The ASSA ABLOY Group - the global manufacturer and supplier of locks and associated products - will buy Williams' lock division, Yale Intruder Security - a leading manufacturer of locks, lock cylinders and safes with strong global brands such as Yale, Chubb and Tesa.

With this acquisition, ASSA ABLOY's annual sales will exceed SEK 20 billion, about US $ 2.3b or GBP 1.5 billion.

The acquisition is complementary geographically and adds strong market positions in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Brazil and China and a well-established position in North America.

Williams' lock division has an established presence in the residential segment in Europe and the USA, an area with a growing demand for security and where ASSA ABLOY is currently not present outside the Nordic markets and France.

ASSA ABLOY expects the division to generate sales in excess of GBP 520 million and to earn an operating margin of 13-14% this year.

The purchase price is GBP 825 million, being paid as GBP 618.75 million in cash and 19.765 million B-shares in ASSA ABLOY.

The acquisition will be financed through a new credit facility and a Rights Issue of SEK 1,500 million to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting on 3 May, 2000.

The acquisition is expected to be immediately cash flow positive and to be EPS neutral in 2001 and accretive thereafter.

A formal contract is expected to be signed before the end of March following final due diligence and completion will be conditional on shareholder and regulatory approval.

ASSA ABLOY will hold a conference call for journalists and analysts at 19.00 GMT (2.00 PM ET) at [phone]. Copies of the presentation will be available one hour before the conference starts on the following internet address: http://www.assaabloy.se/conference.