Technopolis Plc is in the process of acquiring the ownership of Kuopion Teknologiakeskus Teknia Oy. Technopolis and the City of Kuopio, Teknia's current owner, have signed a preliminary agreement on the matter. The transaction concerns 99.8 % of the Kuopio-based company's shares. Technopolis will pay EUR 18.1 million for these shares, allowing for adjustment in case of a change in Teknia's net debt position prior to the closure of the transaction. The total transaction value is approximately EUR 67 million. The intention is to close the deal in February 2008 at the latest. Teknia currently houses about 150 companies and other entities with a total of some 2,500 employees. Teknia provides premises for its customers and engages in competence center and business incubator activities and business development operations. The technology center's total leasable area is 47,860 square meters. The largest customers are Ark Therapeutics Oy, Honeywell Oy, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, TeliaSonera Finland Oyj and TietoEnator Corporation. The combined total area leased by these customers accounts for 37 % of the entire premises. Petteri Paronen, Mayor of Kuopio, believes that Technopolis' arrival in Kuopio will provide a further boost to the already good growth, development and internationalization of the entire City of Kuopio, and particularly its technology-intensive businesses. According to Mayor Paronen, Kuopio has high hopes for Technopolis' advanced business development and incubator operations. Pertti Huuskonen, President and CEO of Technopolis, considers the upcoming expansion a substantial development for the company. Kuopio, already a powerful factor in Finnish high technology, will now be embraced by the Technopolis network. “Our aim is to cover all principal technology concentrations of Finland. The acquisition of Teknia is yet another milestone in the growth strategy of Technopolis. Additionally, it will further broaden the range represented by our customer companies. Kuopio boasts strong corporate players in sensor technology and medicine, for example,” he says. Huuskonen also believes that combining the experience and competence of Technopolis and Teknia will serve to underpin the competitiveness of companies in Kuopio. He emphasizes that Technopolis wants to make all of its competence and experience and its service concept and network available in Kuopio. For further information, please contact Technopolis Plc Pertti Huuskonen, President and CEO, tel. +358 400 680 816 City of Kuopio, Petteri Paronen, Mayor, tel. +358 44 718 2001 In terms of the number of customer companies, Technopolis Plc is one of Europe's largest technology centers. The Technopolis Group is Finland's largest specialized provider of operating environments for high tech companies, and it offers a comprehensive service package combining modern premises and business and development services. Technopolis operates or has construction of operating environments underway in Espoo, Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Tampere and Vantaa in Finland, and in St. Petersburg in Russia.