Ahlstrom, a global leader in high performance fiber-based materials, announced today the completion of the acquisition of Fabriano Filter Media SpA of Italy. The acquisition, announced in early February, includes one filter media production site, employing 32 people and located in Sassoferrato in central Italy. The plant will be closely integrated with Ahlstrom's current Filtration operations in Italy. The transaction is valued at approximately EUR 7 million. The addition of Fabriano's product portfolio gives Ahlstrom access to the growing high efficiency air filtration market as well as complements its offering in other segments such as liquid filtration. With this transaction, Ahlstrom reinforces its position as a leading provider of filtration solutions worldwide and demonstrates its commitment to serving the global filtration industry with a high-quality and diverse product range."This acquisition continues our strategy to build up the Filtration segment of our business", commented Ahlstrom's President & CEO, Jukka Moisio. "The addition of microglass filter media capability complements our other filtration technologies and enables us to offer our customers an extensive range of solutions". Ahlstrom's Filtration business area is the leading manufacturer of filtration materials with 13 production sites across four continents. For further information, please contact: Jukka Moisio, President & CEO, +358 (0)10 888 4700, jukka.moisio@ahlstrom.com Daniele Borlatto, Vice President, Filtration, Europe, +39 011 926 0241 daniele.borlatto@ahlstrom.com Ahlstrom in brief: Ahlstrom is a global leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of high performance fiber-based materials. Nonwovens and specialty papers, made by Ahlstrom, are used in a large variety of everyday products, such as filters, wipes, flooring, labels, and tapes. Based upon its unique fiber expertise and innovative approach, the company has a strong market position in several business areas in which it operates. Ahlstrom's 6,200 employees serve customers via sales offices and production facilities in more than 20 countries on six continents. In 2006, Ahlstrom's net sales amounted to EUR 1.6 billion. Ahlstrom's share is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. The company website is www.ahlstrom.com.