Arco Investeeringute AS, a subsidiary of Arco Vara AS signed a pre-agreement to acquire a 50% stake in a shopping centre development project in Simferopol in Ukraine. According to the agreement Arco must make a down payment for the stake in amount of 85,6 mEEK (5,5 mEUR; $8,0 mUSD) and in addition plans to provide subordinated debt in the amount of 235,8 mEEK (15,1 mEUR; $22,0 mUSD) alone or with financial investors. The final purchase price of the stake depends on the results of legal and financial due diligence. Until the final share purchase agreement is not signed the down payment is secured by a guarantee of AS Ühendatud Kapital. The share purchase agreement should be signed by 30.09.2008 the latest. The seller of the shares is a subsidiary of the holding company Expert Capital S.A., registered in Luxemburg. The project is located on 9,1 Ha of land and is developed in two stages. The construction of first stage is already underway and includes 14 500 m2 hypermarket. The second phase involves 38 700 m2 shopping mall. The total size of the project is 53 000 m2 and estimated capex 921,7 mEEK (59,0 mEUR; $86,1 mUSD). First phase should be ready already in this summer and second stage in autumn 2009. Senior loan for the project has been already approved by the board of directors of EBRD. “Expansion in foreign markets is Arco's priority. Entering Ukraine market together with well recognised, experienced and established shopping centre developer mitigates risks involved in the project . The catchment area of the centre is 0,5 million people and the city has no contemporary shopping centres. About 5 million tourists visit the city annually. Arco is considering investments to similar projects also in the future. However, we have to keep in mind group liquidity reserves in order to control refinancing risks and to secure long-term investment capabilities”, says Arco's CEO Mr. Aare Tammemäe. “Expert Capital is one of the biggest real estate developers in the Ukraine. We are interested to involve partners in our projects to share risks and capitalize on partners' experience. Arco Vara is an established real estate developer in CEE, having 15 years of experience in the region. I believe such knowledge is of great value for our joint project.”, commented CEO of Expert Capital Management Mr. Raul Parusk.. Arco Vara is a leading real estate developer in the Baltics, undergoing a CEE expansion with presence established in Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania. The operations involve real estate development, brokerage, construction and investment management arm. The company has offices in 30 cities and has in total 649 employees. According to 9 months results 2007 consolidated revenues were 687 mln kroons (44 mln euros), net profit 264 mln kroons (17 mln euros) and assets 3 536 mln kroons (226 mln euros). Arco Vara is listed on Tallinn Stock Exchange. Expert Capital S.A. is a holding company registered in Luxemburg. The core operations of the company involve real estate development in the Ukraine and Estonia and the hypermarkets operator in the Ukraine. At the end of last year the company opened 3 new hypermarkets in Kiev, Krivoj Rog and Zaporozhje. According to 9 months 2007 results Expert Capital S.A. reported a 297,3 mEEK (19,0 mEUR) net profit and had total assets of 5 382,4 mEEK (344,0 mEUR). The group has over 2 000 employees. AS Ühendatud Kapital is a subsidiary of Expert Capital S.A. and was the owner and manager of Rocca Al Mare shopping centre, Ehitusservice and Maksimarket buildings on Peterburi road and also a co-owner of Sikupilli shopping centre, all located in Tallinn, Estonia. Additional information: Heigo Metsoja IRO +372 6144 654 heigo.metsoja@arcovara.ee http://www.arcorealestate.com or Lauri Reinberg CFO Expert Capital Management +372 666 5940 Lauri.Reinberg@expertcapital.eu