Norwegian Property ASA, which aims to secure a stock exchange listing during the fourth quarter, has acquired Aker House at Fornebu in Bærum municipality outside Oslo. The company is paying about NOK 1.5 billion for the property as well as an existing very favourable interest swap contract, acquired for a third of its par value per 30 June 2006, and other assets. The property will cover about 58 000 square metres when completed. This acquisition brings the Norwegian Property portfolio to 41 high-standard commercial holdings with attractive locations, acquired at a total cost of roughly NOK 14.6 billion.
 
Currently under construction for occupation in November 2007, Aker House will be the new head office of the Aker ASA and Aker Kværner ASA companies. It is located next to Telenor's head office and will be one of the largest and most modern buildings in the Fornebu area with eight stories - including two basement levels.
 
The purchase will be financed partly by drawing further on the company's credit facility with the banks, partly from equity - including the issue of NOK 100 million in shares to the seller (at NOK 50 per share) - and partly through an "equity bridge" loan from the banks. Norwegian Property has made the acquisition conditional on achieving acceptable equity and external financing, and on this being available to it at the transaction date.
 
Independent valuations carried out for the banks by DTZ and Akershus Eiendom/Jones Lang Lasalle show that the purchase price being paid by Norwegian Property lies well within the assessed values.
 
The lease with Aker ASA/Aker Kværner ASA run to the end of 2019, and are structured as triple net contracts. This means that Norwegian Property will incur no operating or maintenance expenses during the 13-year term. Rent will be paid in full to the company from the takeover date in the fourth quarter. Net rent for the next 12 months totals almost NOK 78 million and is adjusted annually for inflation.
 
Covering some 590 000 square metres, the 41 properties now owned by Norwegian Property will yield an annual rental income of almost NOK 900 million. Virtually all the area is leased, and the average remaining term for these leases at 30 September was 7.8 years. Leases for more than 60 000 square metres shall be renegotiated the next two years. The properties have been acquired with an average implicit net yield after tax adjustments of about six per cent.
 
Norwegian Property ASA will offer investors a liquid investment option exposed to commercial property in Norway. It invests in large, centrally-located commercial properties in the main Norwegian towns. The long-term aim is to become the biggest and most liquid investment option in Norway's commercial property market. The company is listed on the Norwegian Over-The-Counter market (NOTC) with the ticker code NPRO, and has applied for a listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
 
See: www.npro.no or www.norwegianproperty.no
 
Further information from
Petter Jansen, president and CEO, Norwegian Property ASA, tel: +47 90 09 87 28
Knut Brundtland, chair, Norwegian Property ASA, tel: +47 40 06 20 20