Impress announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Berkshire Partners to purchase U.S.C. Europe, the European operations of U.S.Can. The transaction is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2006 and is subject to the customary regulatory approvals.

The operations to be purchased by Impress are the food can business of May Verpackungen and the European aerosol activities of U.S.C. Europe. In 2005 they had a combined sales turnover of €235 million, and employed approximately 1 200 people.

May Verpackungen has two plants based in Germany and one in Denmark, and has a sizeable position in Northern Europe in the supply of cans for ready meals, vegetables and petfood. U.S.C. Europe is the second largest supplier of aerosols to the European market, and has facilities in France, Germany, UK, Spain and Italy.

Impress is a leading international company devoted to metal packaging. It is the second largest European supplier of food cans, worldwide leader in the seafood can market, European leader in cans for paints & coatings, and a significant European producer of aerosol cans.

Impress is based in Deventer in the Netherlands and has a worldwide turnover of 1.4 billion euros. It employs approximately 6,500 people in 43 facilities operating out of 17 countries, in Europe, North America, Japan, and the Seychelles.

‘This is a major strategic opportunity for Impress,’ says Francis Labbé, Chief Executive Officer of Impress. ‘It will reinforce our position and extend our geographical coverage in the growing market for aerosols and strengthen our ability to serve food can customers in Northern Europe.

The U.S.C. Europe aerosol companies and May Verpackungen are an excellent fit with the Impress Group. They have developed very strong relationships with their customers through excellence in quality and service. These are advantages we will build on, while supporting them with our worldclass product development resources.’

For further Information, please contact:
Marie de Fouchier
Talents et Compagnie
Tel: +33 1 56 89 56 52 Fax: +33 1 56 89 56 50
email: fouchier@talentscompagnie.com

Impress: Richard Moore +33 1 45 19 18 14

Discover Impress on: www.impressgroup.com