Ad Hoc Release: ALSO acquires Dutch distributor Fi

ALSO Holding AG will acquire the Dutch distributor Five 4 U B.V. The closing of the transaction, which is expected in the coming months, remains subject to the usual regulatory approvals. The parties agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.

"I look forward to working with the Five 4 U team, which has a proven graphic arts expertise that is of interest to the entire ALSO Group. The acquisition opens up new customer groups in the Netherlands and gives us access to products that we can sell to our existing customers. Our business in Belgium will benefit from the transaction," said Gustavo Möller-Hergt, CEO of ALSO Holding AG (SIX: ALSN).

"Five 4 U has experienced exceptional growth in the Benelux over the past 25 years, mainly in its business with Apple products and in the area of graphics. The transaction with ALSO ensures an acceleration of this growth given our shared vision, experience and market orientation," said Rien Slagter, CEO of Five 4 U.

Five 4 U is one of the leading specialized distributors for hardware and software in the Benelux. The company is a distributor for Apple and other hardware providers such as HP and Epson. Further, Five 4 U offers its customers software and IT services. A large part of its activities focus on logistics and service merchandising. The company markets more than 50 brands and has an international customer base of resellers who will benefit from ALSO's wide range of services and products.

Direct link to the ad hoc release: http://www.also.com/goto/20170227en

Contact person: Brunswick Group GmbH Dr. Marc Langendorf Tel:       +49 89 80 99 02 517 Email:   mlangendorf@brunswickgroup.com

ALSO Holding AG (Emmen/Switzerland) brings providers and buyers of the ICT industry together. The company offers services at all levels of the ICT value chain from a single source. In the European B2B marketplace, ALSO bundles logistics services, financial services, supply services, solution services, digital services, and IT services together into individual service packages. ALSO's portfolio contains more than 188 000 articles from some 500 vendors. The Group has around 3 670 employees throughout Europe. In fiscal year 2016 (closing on December 31), the company generated net sales of 8.0 billion euros. The majority shareholder of ALSO Holding AG is the Droege Group, Düsseldorf, Germany. Further information is available at http://www.also.com

Droege Group (Major shareholder) Droege Group (founded in 1988) is an independent consulting and investment company under full family ownership. The company acts as a specialist for tailor-made restructuring programs aiming to enhance corporate value. Droege Group combines its corporate family-run structure and capital strength into a family-equity business model. The group carries out direct investments with own equity in corporate subsidiaries and medium-sized companies in "special situations". The motto of "The Art of Implementation" has made the group a pioneer of hands-on implementation-oriented corporate development. Droege Group demonstrates its implementation excellence daily within its own portfolio. The entrepreneurially platforms of the Droege Group are aligned to current megatrends (knowledge, connectivity, prevention, demography, shopping 4.0, future work). Enthusiasm for quality, innovation and speed determines our actions. In this way Droege Group has successfully gained a position in domestic and international markets and operates in 30 countries. More information: http://www.droege-group.com

Five 4 U Five 4 U was founded in Utrecht in 1992 and expects its revenues in 2016 to reach 285 million euros in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The company offers its customers a wide range of Apple products and accessories as well as hardware from various other vendors. The company also offers support services, e.g. online fulfilment, order and delivery management, and warehouse services. More information: http://www.five4u.com

Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions and forecasts of the ALSO management. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the forward-looking statements made here and the actual development, in particular the results, financial situation, and performance of our Group. The Group accepts no responsibility for updating these forward-looking statements or adapting them to future events or developments.