OREANDA-NEWS. April 05, 2010. On 30.12.2009, AS Ekspress Grupp (acquiring company) and AS Maaleht (company being acquired) concluded a merger agreement and upon completion of merger proceedings, AS Maaleht will be deemed liquidated. As a result of the merger, the share capital of AS Ekspress Grupp will neither be increased nor exchanged.

The acquiring company will continue its operations under the business name of AS Ekspress Grupp. Upon the merger, the company being acquired will transfer all of its assets to the acquiring company.

The goal of the merger of AS Ekspress Grupp with its wholly-owned subsidiary is to facilitate the administrative management of the merging parties as well as to minimise the related costs and increase efficiency. The merger will have no economic effect on the other subsidiaries and associates of the Group.

The main activity of AS Maaleht was the publishing of Maaleht, a weekly newspaper with one of the largest and most stable readerships in Estonia, until the transfer of the company to Eesti Ajalehed AS on 01.10.2009 (see stock exchange notice of 02.09.2009).

In conjunction with the merger, no fringe benefits will be granted to the members of the management and supervisory boards of the companies participating in the merger. The members of the supervisory and management boards of AS Ekspress Grupp have no personal interests in the transaction.

The parties to the merger agreement are considered as related parties under the rules and regulations of the Tallinn Stock Exchange.

The audited annual reports of AS Ekspress Grupp for 2006 - 2008 are available on the websites of NASDAQ OMX Tallinn and AS Ekspress Grupp. The annual reports of AS Maaleht have been appended to this notice.