SAMPO PLC STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 16 May 2008 at 10.25 am DISCLOSURE UNDER CHAPTER 2 SECTION 9 OF THE SECURITIES MARKET ACT Sampo plc (business code 01422113-3) has yesterday received the following disclosure in accordance with Chapter 2 Section 9 of the Securities Market Act regarding Sampo plc's shares. According to the disclosure Exista hf. and companies controlled by Exista hf. hold shares in Sampo plc below of the flagging threshold of 20 per cent of the number of shares as set forth in Chapter 2, Section 9 of the Securities Market Act. According to the disclosure Exista Trading ehf. has also cancelled the equity swap agreement regarding 100,000 A shares in Sampo plc referred to in Exista hf.'s flagging notification of 11 February 2008. According to the disclosure Exista hf. and its group companies hold 19.98 per cent of the total number of shares and 19.82 per cent of the voting rights in the Sampo plc. SAMPO PLC Essi Nikitin IR Manager tel. +358 10 516 0066 Distribution: OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki The principal media Financial Supervision Insurance Supervisory Authority www.sampo.com DISCLOSURE Finnish Financial Supervision Authority 15 May 2008 Snellmaninkatu 6 P.O. Box 159 FI-00101 Helsinki Finland to be delivered by e-mail to: kirjaamo@rahoitustarkastus.fi Sampo Plc. Fabianinkatu 27 FI-00100 Helsinki Finland Fax: + 358 10 516 0016 to be delivered by e-mail to: jarmo.salonen@sampo.fi A FLAGGING NOTIFICATION REFERRED TO IN CHAPTER 2, SECTION 9 OF THE SECURITIES MARKETS ACT ON A CHANGE IN HOLDINGS This is a notification about Exista's divest of shares in Sampo in order to maintain Exista's 19.98 per cent shareholding unchanged, following decided cancellation of shares in Sampo Plc. As a result of transactions entered into by Exista hf.'s group companies and the cancellation of Sampo Plc.'s trasury shares, Exista hf.'s combined current and future holdings in Sampo Plc. fall below 20 per cent of the shares of Sampo Plc. but the current holdings remain at the previous level of 19.98 per cent of the total number of shares and 19.82 per cent. of the voting rights. These transactions have been carried out to maintain the holdings at the level authorised by the relevant regulatory authorities, including the Finnish Insurance Supervision Authority. Under Chapter 2, section 9 of the Securities Markets Act, we herby notify the Financial Supervision Authority and Sampo Plc. of the following: 1. Identity of the issuer Sampo Plc. (Sampo Oyj) 2. Reason for the notification This notification is made because: - Sampo Plc. has on 7 May 2008 decided to cancel a total of 6,715,000 of its treasury A shares, but the cancellation has not been registered at the date of this notification; - Exista B.V., Exista Trading ehf. and Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf. have divested a total of 1,350,000 A shares in Sampo Plc.; and - Exista Trading ehf. has cancelled the equity swap agreement regarding 100,000 A shares in Sampo Plc referred to in Exista hf.'s flagging notification of 11 February 2008. Therefore, the combined current and future holdings of Exista hf.'s group companies fall below 20 per cent of the shares of Sampo Plc., but the current holdings remain at 19.98 per cent of the total number of shares and 19.82 per cent of the voting rights in the Sampo Plc, which is the previous level of holdings approved by the relevant regulatory authorities, including the Finnish Insurance Supervision Authority. 3. Date of the transactions 15 May 2008 4. Exact proportion of voting rights and shares in Sampo Plc., broken down by the share class Subsequent to registration of the cancellation of Sampo Plc.'s treasury shares the total holdings of Exista hf.'s group in Sampo Plc. will be as follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Share class | No. of shares | % of all shares | % of all voting | | | | | rights | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | A-shares | 114,257,867 | 19.98% | 19.82% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | B-shares | - | - | - | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Total | 114,257,867 | 19.98% | 19.82% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After registration of the cancellation of the treasury shares, the share capital of Sampo Plc. will comprise a total of 571,815,890 shares (570,615,890 class A shares and 1,200,000 class B shares), said shares entitling to a total of 576,615,890 votes. 5. Shareholder's full name and trade register number Full name: Exista hf. Exista hf. is registered with the Register of Enterprises of Iceland under the registration number 610601-2350. Exista hf.'s address is Ármúli 3, 108 Reykjavik, Iceland. The shares issued by Exista hf. have been admitted to public trading on the main list of the OMX Nordic Exchange Iceland. Contact person: Sigurdur Nordal Managing Director Group Communications Exista hf. Ármúli 3, IS-108 Reykjavík Telephone: +354 550 8620 Fax: +354 550 8699 E-mail: ir@exista.com 6. Full names and trade register numbers of the subsidiaries through which the shares are held as well as grounds for including such shares in the holdings of the shareholder Exista hf. holds the shares in Sampo Plc. through its subsidiaries. These subsidiaries are controlled by Exista hf. within the meaning of Chapter 1, section 5 of the Securities Markets Act. The full names and trade register numbers of the subsidiaries are as follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Name | Trade register number | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Exafin B.V. | 34229055, Trade register maintained | | | by the Chambers of Commerce for | | | Amsterdam | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Exista B.V. | 34221959, Trade register maintained | | | by the Chambers of Commerce for | | | Amsterdam | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Allocation of holdings between Exista hf. and the subsidiaries Exista B.V., Exista Trading ehf. and Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf. have divested divested an aggregate of 1,350,000 A shares in Sampo Plc., and Exista Trading ehf. has cancelled the equity swap agreement relating to 100,000 A shares in Sampo Plc. referred to in Exista hf.'s flagging notification of 11 Feburary 2008. Consequently, after registration of the cancellation of Sampo Plc.'s treasury shares, the holdings of Exista hf.'s group companies in Sampo Plc. will be as follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Share class | No. of shares | % of all | % of all | | | | | shares | voting | | | | | | rights | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Exafin B.V. | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | A shares | 90,074,668 | 15.75% | 15.62% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | B shares | - | - | - | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Total | 90,074,668 | 15.75% | 15.62% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Exista B.V. | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | A shares | 24,183,199 | 4.23% | 4.19% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | B shares | - | - | - | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Total | 24,183,199 | 4.23% | 4.19% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. The chain of controlled companies through which the shares and votes in Sampo Plc. are held Exafin B.V. is a 100 per cent directly-owned subsidiary of Exista hf. Exista hf. owns 100 per cent of the shares in Exista Holdings B.V., which in turn owns 100 per cent of the shares in Exista B.V. ___________________________ Pekka Jaatinen, Attorney-at-Law For and on behalf of Exista hf.