ALSO in Exclusive Talks to Acquire Dutch Distributor FIVE 4 U

EMMEN, SWITZERLAND--(Marketwired - Sept. 1, 2016) - ALSO Holding AG (SIX:ALSN) intends to acquire Five 4 U B.V. Five 4 U is a leading and fully specialized distributor of computer hardware and software in the Benelux countries, distributing for Apple and other reputable hardware vendors like HP and Epson. A large part of their business model is based on supply activities. Furthermore they provide services like warehousing and service merchandising.

FIVE 4 U was founded in 1992 in Utrecht and forecasts a revenue of approximately 285 million euros in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg for 2016. Five 4 U offers a broad portfolio of Apple products and accessories, hardware by other providers and services and support solutions such as online fulfilment, order and delivery services and storage services.

"Five 4 U is a perfect match for ALSO. Our portfolios are complementary. I am convinced that both Five 4 U and ALSO will profit from the combination of the businesses", says Gustavo Möller-Hergt, CEO of ALSO. "ALSO provides a broad international market access. At the same time the Benelux focus of Five 4 U will help ALSO to further increase its strong market share in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg", says Rien Slagter, CEO of Five 4 U.

Five 4 U represents more than 50 vendors and has an international customer base of well-established resellers. They will also benefit from ALSO's broad portfolio of product and service offers. ALSO intends to leverage this given cross selling potential.

ALSO expects to sign the business combination agreement in fall 2016 after the completion of the due diligence.

Direct link to press release: http://www.also.com/goto/20160901en2

ALSO Holding AG (Emmen/Switzerland) brings providers and buyers of the ICT industry together. The company offers services at all levels of the ICT value chain from a single source. In the European B2B marketplace, ALSO bundles logistics services, financial services, supply services, solution services, digital services, and IT services together into individual service packages. ALSO's portfolio contains more than 160 000 articles from some 350 vendors. The Group has around 3 750 employees throughout Europe. In fiscal year 2015 (closing on December 31), the company generated net sales of 7.8 billion euros. The majority shareholder of ALSO Holding AG is the Droege Group, Düsseldorf, Germany. Further information is available at www.also.com.

Droege Group

(Major shareholder)

Droege Group (founded in 1988) is an independent consulting and investment company under full family ownership. The company acts as a specialist for tailor-made restructuring programs aiming to enhance corporate value. Droege Group combines its corporate family-run structure and capital strength into a family-equity business model. The group carries out direct investments with own equity in corporate subsidiaries and medium-sized companies in "special situations". The motto of "The Art of Implementation" has made the group a pioneer of hands-on implementation-oriented corporate development. Droege Group demonstrates its implementation excellence daily within its own portfolio. The entrepreneurially platforms of the Droege Group are aligned to current megatrends (mobility, prevention, digitalization, demography, etc.). Enthusiasm for quality, innovation and speed determines our actions. In this way Droege Group has successfully gained a position in domestic and international markets and operates with over 120 companies in 30 countries. In 2015 the sales volume of Droege Group was 9.2 billion euros.

More information: http://www.droege-group.com.

Five 4 U

FIVE 4 U was founded in 1992 in Utrecht and forecasts a revenue of approx. 285 million euros in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg for 2016. Five 4 U offers a broad portfolio of Apple products and accessories, hardware by other providers and services and support solutions such as online fulfilment, order and delivery services and storage services.

More information: http://www.five4u.com.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions and forecasts of the ALSO management. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the forward-looking statements made here and the actual development, in particular the results, financial situation, and performance of our Group. The Group accepts no responsibility for updating these forward-looking statements or adapting them to future events or developments.