Acquisition of Hera strengthens Nocom's competitiveness in market communication and electronic business

Acquisition of Hera strengthens Nocom's competitiveness in market communication and electronic business Nocom AB (publ) has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire all the shares of Hera AB, one of Sweden's oldest and most well known marketing communications firms. The acquisition will provide Nocom with complementary expertise, making it one of the few consulting companies that will master the whole complex process involved in an e-commerce project - from market analysis, communication and project planning to the development and deployment of systems. The acquisition will create one of the market's strongest e-commerce partners for Swedish industry. Hera helps, among others, SAS, SSAB, Avesta Sheffield, Nordic Timber Council, Fresenius Kabi, Svensk Exportkredit and Länsförsäkringar to develop and refine their business activities using both digital and traditional communication, in Sweden and internationally. The company, which is based in Uppsala, Sweden, has a staff of 23 and an annual turnover of 25 million Swedish kronor. Hera will continue to operate as an independent company in the Nocom group, in close collaboration with Nocom Integration. The acquisition will be financed by a new issue of 187.000 B-shares in Nocom. "Swedish trade and industry's needs for marketing communications are broader than before and require new expertise from the IT world. Nocom has been creating and developing complete infrastructure solutions for e- commerce and the Internet for many years. In addition, Nocom's vision of the future is shared by Hera. Together we shall form a complete supplier of e-commerce solutions for Swedish industry," says Michel Östlund, chief executive of Hera. Today Nocom, which was one of the first companies in the Nordic area to help its customers develop business services for the Internet, handles comprehensive service and support undertakings for many of the market's systems for electronic commerce. In addition, Nocom is one of the leading companies in the development and operation of mobile e-business solutions. "The merger will transform us into one of the market's strongest e- commerce partners for Swedish industry. Our already strong position in Internet and mobile networks will now be complemented with one of Sweden's best communications consulting firms," says Anders Jonson, chief executive of the Nocom group. "Hera is a strategic acquisition that will have a big effect on our continued expansion, both in Sweden and abroad." If you have any questions regarding this press release, please contact Anders Jonson, CEO Nocom, telephone +46-708655301 (0708-65 53 01) anders.jonson@nocom.se Michel Östlund, CEO Hera, telephone +46-708763604 (0708-76 36 04) michel.ostlund@hera.se ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/01/12/20000112BIT00320/bit0001.pdf http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/01/12/20000112BIT00320/bit0002.doc