STOCKHOLM, Sweden, August 07, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Skanska (Other OTC:SKSBF) is selling all of its properties in Latvia. The sale price for the three properties amounts to a total of SEK 157 M and generates a small capital gain.
The sale comprises the modern Valdemara Center office property and two small residential properties. The sale of the residential properties, with a purchase price of SEK 50 M, was reported in the second quarter of 2003, while the sale of Valdemara Center, with a purchase price of SEK 107 M, will be reported in the third quarter of 2003.
Valdemara Center is one of Riga's best-known office properties and comprises 8,300 square meters of floor space. Nordea is one of the tenants in the property. The residential properties comprise 5,700 square meters, with a total of 48 apartments. All three properties were developed by Skanska and are now being sold to local investors.
"Through these transactions, we are following our strategy and exiting the Latvian market. At the same time, the sales enable a continued focus on commercial project development in our selected Central European markets -- Prague, Budapest and Warsaw," says Fredrik Wirdenius, President of Skanska Project Development Europe.
The sale of the properties in Latvia is being carried out as a result of the strategic review that was conducted in the autumn of 2002 and announced in January this year, and which includes Skanska focusing on selected home markets, where the Group can gain a leading position. Earlier, construction operations in Hungary were phased out and operations in Lithuania were divested, among other measures.
Skanska Project Development Europe focuses on initiating, developing, operating and selling commercial property projects with an emphasis on offices and commerce in Prague, Budapest and Warsaw.
This and previous releases can also be found at www.skanska.com
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net
The following files are available for download:
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/08/07/20030807BIT00470/wkr0001.doc
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/08/07/20030807BIT00470/wkr0002.pdf