- Eimskip completes the sale of properties for CDN$ 385 million


Eimskip has completed the sale of 23 Public Refrigerated Warehouse Facilities
located in the U.S. and Canada for gross proceeds of CDN$ 385 million. The net
proceeds were used to repay the acquisition debt incurred in connection with
the acquisition of Atlas Cold Storage, which was completed in November 2006. 

In the last 12 months Eimskip has acquired both Atlas Cold Storage, which is
the second largest cold storage company in North America and Versacold, which
is the third largest cold storage company in North America. Eimskip has gained
a leading position globally in cold storage operation with close to 200 cold
storages in five continents. 

The combined annual turnover of Atlas Cold Storage and Versacold is approx.
CDN$ 1,200 million with 120 cold storages in operation in US, Canada,
Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Atlas Cold Storage and Versacold combined
employ 8,500 people. 

The total acquisition cost of Atlas Cold Storage and Versacold amounted to CDN$
1,800 million.  As part of their operations both of these companies had
substantial real estate holdings in the US, Canada, Argentina, Australia and
New Zealand. CBRE, an international real estate services company, has estimated
that the total value of these properties to be approximately CDN$ 1,600
million. 

Eimskip has now completed the sale of a quarter of these properties, and
received gross proceeds of CDN$ 385 million. All of the sold facilities were
leased back by Atlas Cold Storage for approximately 20 years. The net proceeds
were used to repay the Canadian acquisition debt incurred in connection with
the acquisition of Atlas Cold Storage, which was completed in November 2006. 

Eimskip is currently working on the sale of the remaining properties. 

Baldur Gudnason, CEO of Eimskip: 
“We believe the sale of Atlas' properties is an important milestone in further
development of Atlas Cold Storage's and Versacold's operations. The operation
is running according to plan, and with the sale of these properties, key
management can focus on its key competencies, providing world class cold
storage services to its customers. Lately, Eimskip has been building an
effective transportation network in temperature controlled goods worldwide and
currently controls a 13%-15% share of the global cold storage market. 

The realized value of the properties now sold were above our expectations,
especially in light of the difficult current situation in the financial
markets.  We view this excellent result as a very positive sign for our future
plans. We have delivered on our plan to repay the acquisition debt incurred in
the connection with the acquisition of Atlas Cold Storage and to focus Atlas
Cold Storage on its core operating activities”. 

RBC Capital Markets Real Estate Group acted for Eimskip in this matter and
Toronto-based KingSett Capital worked with Eimskip to structure this
transaction. 


About Eimskip
Hf. Eimskipafelag Islands is one of the largest companies in Iceland and is
publicly listed on the Icelandic Stock Exchange. The company has over 90 years
of experience in providing transportation, warehousing and logistics services
in Europe, primarily in the North Atlantic region. 

Operating with 200 locations around the world in over 30 countries with a total
of 14,500 employees, Hf. Eimskipafelag Islands has global reach. It owns or
operates 50 vessels, 180 cold-store facilities, 25 wide body cargo aircraft and
2,000 trucks and trailers. 

Eimskip is traded on the Icelandic Stock Exchange under the symbol of HFEIM. To
find out more about Eimskip, visit our website at www.eimskip.is. 
GlobeNewswire