EANS-News: K+S Aktiengesellschaft / Expansion of market position in East European salt market / esco acquires Solné Mlýny a.s. salt processing company in the Czech Republic

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Mergers - Acquisitions - Takeovers

Kassel (euro adhoc) - Hannover, 3 January 2012

Expansion of market position in East European salt market esco
acquires Solné Mlýny a.s. salt processing company in the Czech
Republic

esco - european salt company GmbH & Co. KG, a wholly owned
subsidiary of K+S Aktiengesellschaft, takes over the Czech salt
processing company Solné Mlýny a.s. (SMO). The closing of the
transaction occurred today. esco is acquiring SMO from the Czech
trading group EQUUS, which has been undergoing insolvency
proceedings since mid-2010. SMO is a major supplier of salt
products in the Czech Republic and also operates in other European
markets. The purchase price is in the mid-single-digit million euro
range.

SMO has been operating the salt processing business in the eastern
Czech city of Olomouc since 1921 and currently employs about 70
people. Particularly in the table salt segment, the company has a
brand that is well known nationwide and enjoys a high level of
recognition, and is established in the market with a wide product
range of food grade, industrial and de-icing salts. In a normal
year, SMO sells around 100,000 tonnes of its various salt
products and has until now been one of esco´s customers in the
important Czech market.

About esco and K+S esco - european salt company is responsible for
the European salt business within the Salt business segment of the
K+S Group. esco has three rock salt mines, two brine plants,
and several plants processing evaporated salt in Germany,
France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, and has
numerous distribution sites. Its annual production capacity is about
9.7 million tonnes of crystallised salt and salt in brine per year.
Further information about esco can be found at www.esco-salt.com.

The K+S Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of
standard and speciality fertilizers. In the salt business, K+S
is the world´s leading producer with sites in Europe as well as
North and South America. K+S offers a comprehensive range of
goods and services for agriculture, industry, and private
consumers, which provides growth opportunities in virtually
every sphere of daily life. More than 14,000 people work for the K+S
Group worldwide. K+S - the commodity stock represented on the German
share index, the DAX - is quoted on all German stock exchanges.
More information about K+S can be found at www.k-plus-s.com.

Your contact persons:

esco: K+S:
Holger Bekemeier Michael Wudonig
Phone +49 511 85030-1840 Phone +49 561 9301-1262
Fax +49 511 85030-103 Fax +49 561 9301-1666
h.bekemeier@esco-salt.com michael.wudonig@k-plus-s.com

Further inquiry note:
Ihre Ansprechpartner:
Presse:
Michael Wudonig, CFA
Telefon: +49 561 9301-1262
Fax: +49 561 9301-1666
michael.wudonig@k-plus-s.com

K+S Aktiengesellschaft
Kommunikation und Medien
Postfach 10 20 29, 34111 Kassel
Bertha-von-Suttner-Str. 7, 34131 Kassel
www.k-plus-s.com
__________________________________________________________

Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender: Dr. Ralf Bethke
Vorstand: Norbert Steiner (Vors.), Joachim Felker, Gerd Grimmig, Dr. Thomas
Nöcker, Jan Peter Nonnenkamp
Sitz der Gesellschaft: Kassel; Handelsregister: Kassel HRB 2669

end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: K+S Aktiengesellschaft
Bertha-von-Suttner-Straße 7
D-34131 Kassel
phone: +49 (0)561 9301-1460
FAX: +49 (0)561 9301-2425
mail: christian.herrmann@k-plus-s.com
WWW: http://www.k-plus-s.com
sector: Chemicals
ISIN: DE000KSAG888
indexes: DAX, Midcap Market Index, CDAX, Classic All Share, HDAX, Prime All
Share
stockmarkets: official dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, regulated dealing:
Stuttgart, München, official dealing: Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover
language: English