16th Oct 2006 08:43
Banco Santander Central Hispano SA16 October 2006 Following the Material Fact (Hecho Relevante) announcement made by Elf Aquitaine(Elf) and Banco Santander Central Hispano, S.A. (Santander) to the SpanishSecurities Market Commission (Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores or CNMV)on 2 August 2006 (number 69321), both parties, pursuant to article 82 of the 24/1988 Act, of 28 July, on the Securities Market (Ley 24/1988, de 28 de julio, delMercado de Valores), announce the following MATERIAL INFORMATION On 13 October 2006 Elf has received a notice from the EU Commissioncommunicating clearance of the concentration arising from the acquisition by Elfof shares representing 4.35% of the share capital of Compania Espanola dePetroleos, S.A. (Cepsa). Consequently, Santander has sold to Elf 11,650,893shares of Cepsa for a price of 52,960,000 euros. Upon completion of the transaction, Elf holds a 48.83% of Cepsa and Santanderholds a 30.66% of Cepsa. Upon completion of this transaction, Elf and Odival, S.A., on the one hand, andSantander and Riyal, S.L., on the other hand, definitively terminate thearbitration proceedings between them, and to such effects they will soon submita joint application to the arbitral tribunal. Madrid / Paris, 16 October 2006 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Banco Santander