Curtis 1000 Europe AG

July/29/2008

Neuwied, 29 July 2008 – Papierfabrik Hermes & Cie. KG Düsseldorf, a producer of recycled paper and fully owned subsidiary of Curtis 1000 Europe AG (ISIN DE0005431001 / WKN 543100) will file an application for insolvency at the district court of Düsseldorf today. Mainly external factors, such as price increases for energy and raw materials and the low dollar exchange rate combined with decreasing sales prices affected Hermes’ sales and profits negatively in the last year. Parent company Curtis 1000 Europe AG subsequently completed a successful repositioning and considered a sale of the paper mill in the course of focusing on its core business. Papierfabrik Hermes is based in Düsseldorf since 1911 and is producing premium print and copy paper from waste paper with around 100 employees.

With drastic energy price increases, Hermes remained under pressure after the successful repositioning in the last months. Curtis Group thus forced intensive and promising proceedings with a possible new investor over the sale of Papierfabrik Hermes. Discussions between the investor and the local energy supplier, with the aim to agree on calculable energy prices, unfortunately failed definitely this Monday. An economic continuation of the paper mill was not possible because of the considerable higher price demand of the energy supplier. This, even though the investor would have agreed on a modest price increase of the already extremely high energy prices.

The filing for insolvency is unavoidable and responsible, because it ensures financial stability and competitiveness of the whole Curtis Group. The core business of the Curtis Group is still profitable and is strengthened by this decision. Therefore, Curtis Group plans a complete divesture from the energy-intensive paper production.

The insolvency of Papierfabrik Hermes & Cie. will burden Curtis 1000 Europe AG’s consolidated financial statements in 2008 with a sum of EUR 18.5 million. Through this, the positive outcome effect from the first consolidation of Papierfabrik Hermes & Cie. KG in 2003 is neutralized. Curtis 1000 Europe AG’s individual financial statement in 2008 may be burdened with approx. EUR 4.7 million. The outcome effect for the individual financial statement of Curtis 1000 Europe AG does not lead to a loss of half the capital stock.