euro adhoc: Andritz AG / Mergers - Acquisitions - Takeovers / Andritz acquires majority stake in Paper Business Area of Küsters (E)

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Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc.
The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
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18.11.2005

Graz, 18 November 2005. International Technology Group Andritz will acquire a
60% stake in the Paper Business Area of Eduard Küsters Maschinenfabrik GmbH &
Co. KG, Germany. Küsters, which is active in the areas of Paper, Nonwoven, and
Textiles, was taken over by German-based Jagenberg AG in the summer of 2005 from
family ownership. The Paper and Nonwoven Business Areas will be integrated into
a joint company (Andritz 60%, Jagenberg 40%), with Andritz assuming the
industrial leadership.

The Textiles Business Area will be managed under the company name of Küsters
Textile GmbH (formerly Küsters Zittauer Maschinenfabrik GmbH) by Jagenberg
alone, separately from the business operations of the joint company.

A letter of intent was signed. The contract will become effective after
conclusion of the agreement, the approvals of the boards, and the approvals of
the relevant antitrust authorities.

Küsters, based in Krefeld, Germany is one of the world's leading suppliers of
rolls and calender technology to the paper, non-woven and textile industries.

Wolfgang Leitner, Andritz President and CEO: "Küsters' successful dewatering and
finishing technology, which has been in use for many years now, offers a wide
range of applications in the pulp and paper industries for Andritz".

"Following the take-over of the Küsters Group in the summer of this year, the
opportunity to further boost the development perspectives for Küsters’ paper and
nonwoven businesses jointly with Andritz, and to secure them on a long-term
basis, presented itself rather unexpectedly, as Stefan K. Kranzbühler, CEO of
Jagenberg AG, outlines.

Following re-structuring measures, the joint company, based in Krefeld, will
have around 500 employees, and achieve annual sales of approximately 70 to 80
million EUR.

About Andritz
Listed on the Austrian stock exchange, Andritz is a global market leader in
advanced production systems for pulp and paper, steel, and other specialized
industries. Andritz has a staff of approximately 5,900 employees worldwide. It
develops and manufactures its high-tech systems at 15 production sites in
Austria, Germany, Finland, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada,
and China.

About the Jagenberg Group
Having separated from Rheinmetall in 2003, the Jagenberg Group concentrated
first on the strengthening and strategic development of their foil technology
business. As well as acquiring Kampf GmbH & Co. KG Maschinenfabrik and WT
Wickeltechnik GmbH, which are amongst the world’s leading providers of slitting
and winding technologies, Jagenberg also last year acquired a substantial share
in Pagendarm BTT GmbH, who specialise in the building of laminators. In August
2005 Jagenberg became the only shareholder of the Krefeld based Eduard Küsters
Maschinenfabrik. For business year 2005 Jagenberg, in its new structure, is
aiming for a turnover of ca. 225 million euro. Currently the various companies
of the group employ around 1,600 people.

Further inquiry note:
Dr. Michael Buchbauer
Head of Investor Relations
Tel.: +43 316 6902 2979
Fax: +43 316 6902 465
mailto:michael.buchbauer@andritz.com

end of announcement euro adhoc 18.11.2005 17:05:00
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emitter: Andritz AG
Stattegger Straße 18
A-8045 Graz
phone: +43 (0)316 6902-0
FAX: +43 (0)316 6902-415
mail: welcome@andritz.com
WWW: www.andritz.com
ISIN: AT0000730007
indexes:
stockmarkets:
sector: Machine Manufacturing
language: English

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