WOOD & Co emphasises its complete financial and managerial independence of the investment bank Straumur

• As a financial investor, Straumur does not control WOOD & Co group
• WOOD & Co is financially and operationally independent of Straumur
• WOOD & Co has no significant receivables or liabilities to Straumur
• The operations of WOOD & Co are not disturbed at all and continue in a standard manner
• WOOD & Co group remains financially strong and profitable both in 2008 (net income EUR  10.6m) and in 2009
• Vladimír Jaroš, a partner and one of the principal shareholders of WOOD & Co group, confirms the readiness of WOOD & Co’s principal shareholders to take over Straumur’s stake in WOOD & Co group

Prague, 9 March 2009 – The principal shareholders of WOOD & Co are ready to take over back the stake (49.95 %) in the company which is currently owned by the Icelandic investment bank Straumur. The Icelandic financial regulator has taken control over it today due to lack of liquidity. “Straumur’s problems will not affect us at all, our business activities are financially and operationally fully independent. We are interested and we are financially strong enough to get Straumur’s stake in our company back,” says Vladimír Jaroš, a partner and one of the principal shareholders of WOOD & Co group.

WOOD & Co, a leading investment bank in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, is owned for the most part by its local partners, Andrea Ferancová, Vladimír Jaroš, Jan Sýkora and Lubomír Šoltýs. In 2007, a minority stake in the company was purchased by Straumur-Burdaras Investment bank hf., based in Iceland. “To WOOD & Co, Straumur has always been a financial investor without any financial or managerial engagement,” says Vladimír Jaroš. According to his words, WOOD & Co has only marginal receivables or liabilities to Straumur.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information:

David Šimoník, Media Representative of WOOD & Co,
Tel.: 774 280 831
E-mail: david.simonikrelativepr.cz