Emmen, Switzerland, August 31, 2017

· Strong demand from investors results in significant oversubscription
· Issuance of EUR 154 million with maturities of five, seven, and ten years
· Proceeds will be used to refinance existing Group liabilities

ALSO Holding AG (SIX: ALSN) has successfully completed its placement of a promissory note (Schuldscheindarlehen). Issuance volume of EUR 154 million is divided into three tranches with maturities of five, seven, and ten years carrying either fixed or variable interest. ALSO was able to take advantage of the current low interest rate environment, which combined with strong investor demand made it possible to raise funding on attractive terms which were at the lower end of the offer price range. 

"The completion of this private placement of a promissory note has enabled us to capitalize on the favourable market environment we currently see. The expansion of our financing repertoire is another step in the evolution and optimization of our financial structure. The proceeds will be used to ensure mid-term liquidity access and to provide increased financial flexibility for our MORE program. It will also provide financial headroom when it comes to the strategic development of the Group," said Gustavo Möller-Hergt, CEO of ALSO Holding AG. 

Strong demand from investors led to significant oversubscription for the note, which resulted in a significant increase in issuance from the originally planned EUR 100 million to EUR 154 million. The promissory note was placed in Europe. The placement was managed by Bayerische Landesbank and Deutsche Bank.

"The positive response from investors is a vote of confidence in ALSO's business model. Our customers support our move to become a 'solutions aggregator'. This taps the explosive growth potential of cloud computing and the digitalization of entire industries and helps our resellers pioneer a more services-led, recurring revenue approach to sales. Our newly created Consumptional Business unit, which encompasses ALSO's 'IT as a Service' offering, is an essential part of reaching the emerging generation of customers that prefer to use rather than buy software and hardware," Möller-Hergt continued. 

Between 2011 and 2016, ALSO has consistently increased its size and profitability, with net sales up from EUR 6.2 billion to EUR 8 billion and net income up from EUR 26.7 million to EUR 83.2 million. During the same time, the share price tripled. "ALSO aims to continue growing organically and through targeted acquisitions," said Möller-Hergt.

Direct link to the press release: https://also.com/goto/20170831en 

Contact person:
Brunswick Group GmbH
Simon Hertwig
Phone: +49 89 80 99 025 25
Email: shertwig@brunswickgroup.com  

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 188 000 articles from some 500 vendors. The Group has around 3 520 employees throughout Europe (annual average 2016). In fiscal year 2016 (closing on December 31), the company generated net sales of 8.0 billion euros. The majority shareholder of ALSO Holding AG is the Droege Group, Düsseldorf, Germany. Further information is available at http://www.also.com

Droege Group AG
(Major shareholder)
Droege Group AG (founded in 1988) is an independent advisory and investment company entirely family-owned. The company acts as a specialist for tailor-made transformation programs aiming to enhance corporate value. Droege Group AG 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". With the guiding principle "Implementation - following all the rules of art," the group is a pioneer of implementation-oriented corporate development. Droege Group AG proves its implementation excellence daily within its own portfolio. The entrepreneurial platforms of the Droege Group AG are aligned to current megatrends (knowledge, connectivity, prevention, demography, shopping 4.0, future work). Enthusiasm for quality, innovation and speed determines the company's development. As a result the Droege Group AG has successfully positioned itself within the market, both nationally and internationally and operates in 30 countries. More information: https://www.droege-group.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.

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